Just like you
by croenix fire
Summary: There's a new girl at the duel academy,and she's placed with Jaden and the gang,but is she just a normal girl here to learn how to duel,or does she have a secret? read and find out.The story is better than the summary, my first real fic, please be nice.
1. the new girl

Disclaimer: me no own, ok? Good.

Authoresses note: um, this starts right after chazz comes back (I saw screencaps and read summaries) so yah. I'm probably not going to be able to update much, but I'll try to whenever I can. Thank you to those of you who are taking the time to read my story, and please remember to review. Ok, that was totally boring and useless, on with the story!

Ps: sorry about the bad spelling.

Chapter 1: new student

Kuronu stared hard at Chancellor Shepard. He was looking at the review doctor Crowler had written for him. Kuronu had beaten Crowler with ease in her exam duel, though she did do pretty badly on her written test.

_FLASH BACK_

_The tall man that looked like a woman told the girl to sit at the desk. He then walked down to his desk and picked up a book. There was a piece of paper and a pencil in front of Kuronu._

"_Uh, what's this for?" She asked. Crowler rolled his eyes._

"_It's the test." He informed her._

"_Test? I thought I had to duel someone."_

"_You do, but for there's the written test, then the duel test."_

"_Why do they do that?" Crowler rolled his eyes again._

"_The written test is to see what house you'll be going in, the duel test is to see if you can actually get in."_

"_Than shouldn't you do the duel first, 'cause there's no point in taking the test if you can't even get in." Crowler didn't say anything for several minuets._

"_Just…just take the test." Kuronu shrugged. She picked up her pencil and flipped the paper over._

'_What is a spell card?' The first question was. 'Oh that's easy,' Kuronu thought to herself. 'It's…uh…' It was happening again. When ever Kuronu took a test, no matter how easy, she always got test anxiety and was unable to answer the simplest of questions._

'_Ok, next question.' She thought, wiping the sweet off her brow. 'What's a trap card?' Her eye began to twitch. "Uh, sir, can you maybe turn down the heat, it's getting really hot in here." Crowler looked at her._

"_What are you talking about girl? The heat isn't on."_

"_Oh, sorry," She looked at the test. The test stared back at her, well, kinda. She could've sworn it was laughing at her. She finally threw the pencil all the way down to the other end of the room, which hit crowler on the head._

"_CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE!" She shouted. Crowler lowered his book. Kuronu fell on the floor, twitching violently. "Pressure…too…much…pressure…"_

"_Drama queen," Crowler muttered._

_END FLASH BACK_

Ok, really badly, but still, to put a girl in slifer! How ridicules was that? Chancellor Shepard scratched his chin then told the girl, "Well, I'm not sure why doctor Crowler has decided to put you into slifer, but he highly recommends it. I'm sorry Kuronu." Kuronu bit her lip.

"But you're like, the principle here! The top guy! Surely you wont do whatever he says." Kuronu knew that she shouldn't have yelled at him like that, but she was angry. It was obvious that crowler had decided to put her in slifer just to get revenge. Chancellor Shepard raised an eyebrow at the young girl.

"I'm sorry sir, I did not mean to yell at you." She said calmly. The man smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'll talk to the school bored, and your father-" "NO!" Kuronu yelled. "Uh, my father has a lot on his mind right now; I don't think we should bother him just for something like this." She said smiling slightly. Chancellor Shepard nodded.

"Alright, I'll talk to the school bored. In the mean time, doctor Crowler will take you to your dorm. I hope you don't mind sharing with a few boys, but we have no extra rooms right now." He said. Kuronu looked at him.

"Why boys?" she asked, wondering why not girls.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're the only girl in slifer."

"What!"

Kuronu crossed her arms as she and Crowler began their walk to the slifer dorm. _"He could at least offer to carry my bags for me."_ Kuronu thought to herself. Crowler smiled down at her.

"Now, what was your name?" he asked. Kuronu stopped walking and looked at the man that she thought looked very much like a woman.

"You mean you don't know?" she asked.

"No." he said simply. "I know your first name is Kuronu, but what's your last name?"

Kuronu bit her lip and looked at the ground. Should she tell him? This might be her only chance to get treated like a normal girl for once in her life, well, until Chancellor Shepard spilled the beans. She was going to have to talk to him.

"Uh." She mumbled. "Ishahara sir." She told him. "Kuronu Ishahara." She repeated.

"Well, miss Ishahara, there's a special dinner tonight, and you'll need to get your uniform. Fonda Fontaine has it. She's a supervisor for the female obelisk blues." He said smirking.

"But I thought slifers weren't aloud in the obelisk sections." Kuronu said.

"They aren't." Crowler confirmed. "But Chancellor Shepard has made an exception this ONCE." Crowler finished. "Now, come along little girl." Kuronu glared at the man's back.

"Don't call me little girl." She muttered.

Jaden's dorm.

Jaden put his deck down on one of the desks and leaned back in the chair. "Man," he said, placing his arms behind his head. "I haven't dueled in ages."

"What are you talking Jaden?" Syrus asked the taller boy. "You just dueled Bastion yesterday." He said.

"Oh yah." Jaden said getting up. "I forgot about that." He said jokingly. "Oh brother." Chumley muttered under his breath. Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Coming!" Jaden called. Jaden got up and opened the door. He was surprised to see doctor Crowler smirking down at them.

"What do you want?" Jaden asked.

"Now, now Jaden lets not be disrespectful." Crowler told him. Jaden scowled. Then he saw the young girl standing next to him. She had long brown hair, and ice blue eyes.

"Who's she?" Syrus asked, hardly able to keep from staring at her.

"This," crowler said, Indicating to the girl. "Is your new room mate, Kuronu Ishahara." The three boys were shocked. "What!" jaden shouted. "She can't be our roommate!"

"Why not?" Crowler asked.

"Because she's a girl." Chumley said from his bed.

"Yah." Jaden agreed. "I mean its cool that she's here, but I don't think it's a good idea to make a teenage girl be roommates with a 3 teenage boys." Jaden said, eyeing the young girl.

"That's true." Crowler said. "But there are no extra rooms for her, so she'll have to stay here." Jaden scratched the back of his head. "Hey, I got an idea!" he said, snapping his fingers.

"Chazz can be our roommate, and she can have Chazz's room." "Hey, that's a great idea jaden." Syrus said. "Yah, it is." Kuronu said, smiling at the brown haired boy.

"Well, we would do that, but Chazz refuses to share a room with anyone, other wise he'll leave, and we want him to stay." Crowler said. "So she'll just have to stay here." He finished.

"If you say so teach." Jaden said. "I do. Now have fun you 4." He said, pushing Kuronu inside and slamming the door. Kuronu looked at the 3 boys, and the 3 boys looked at her.

"This is SO wrong." She said, putting down her suitcase. The three boys nodded. Jaden sighed. "Well, since you're here, we might as well make the best of it. I'm Jaden Yuki."

He said holding out his hand. Kuronu looked at it for a moment, and then shook it.

"Right, I'm Kuronu Ishahara."

"I'm Chumley Huffington."

"And syrus, Syrus Truesdale." Syrus said in a dazed voice. Kuronu was, dare he say it, more beautiful than Alexis, well, just a little bit, but still, she was so beautiful.

"Yaaaahhhh………" Kuronu said, noticing sy's strange behavior.

" You know, I think you're the first girl to be put is slifer, well, except for that other girl, but she doesn't really count because she was only in 5 grade." Jaden said.

"And what's really scary is that she came here JUST to see my brother." Syrus said. Kuronu sat down on one of the chairs.

"Your brother?" she asked.

"Yah, Zane. He's an obelisk, and the king of duel academy." Syrus said looking out the window.

"The king?" Kuronu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yah," Syrus said. "He's in his last year here, and he's the best out of everyone in this whole school." The blue haired boy finished. "I dueled him once." Jaden said.

"Oh?" Kuronu asked. "And how did a slifer do against the king of duel academy?"

Jaden lay down on his bed and stretched his arms, than rolled onto his sighed so he was facing Kuronu.

"He creamed me." He said simply. Kuronu fell down anime style. "; I see." She said.

Syrus giggled. "Well, we should start getting ready for dinner." He said.

"Oh, I have to go get my uniform." Kuronu said standing up.

"Want me to go with you? This place is pretty big." Jaden said, also standing up.

"No, I should be ok, I'll see you guys at dinner." Kuronu said, running out side. _"I just hope I can find my way." _The girl thought to herself.

Next time: Kuronu sets out to find her uniform, but ends up getting lost in the obelisk blue section. Will she ever find her uniform, more importantly, will she ever get dinner, find out in the next chapter?

Authoresses note: Ok, I won't write the next chapter until I get at least two reviews, ok? So please review soon cuz the next chapter is going to be really funny.


	2. lost?

Authoresses note: Ok, I'm sooooo happy cuz I got like, 5 reviews! Though one was from my sis, so she doesn't count, and the other was from my one friend, but I'm still glad that he reviewed, so only 3 were from people that I didn't know, but I'm still so happy. Ok, warning, Kuronu acts totally different in this chap then how she did in the last, so no one e-mail me saying that she acted totally different and you're going to confuse people and stuff like that, ok? Ok, on with the story.

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Kuronu walked around aimlessly for about 10 minuets before she found the obelisk blue dorm. She was really wishing that Jaden had come with her. Even though she had just met the 3 slifer boys, she already felt like they were her best friends, though that was probably because she never in her entire life had any friends at all. She walked around for a few more minuets, and then finally found the door to the huge building. Everything was blue and white.

"_Ok Kuronu,"_ she thought to herself. _"Now you just have to find 'Fonda Fontaine'._ Kuronu looked left, then right, and then walked down one of the halls.

She kept walking until she heard talking in one of the rooms. When she opened the door, she found that it was a locker room. _"Oh good, maybe someone in here can tell me where miss Fontaine is."_ She thought to herself. She slowly started walking towards the voices, but she saw two boys standing there. _"THIS is a boy's locker room?"_ she slowly started to back away.

"C'mon Zane, we're going to be late for dinner." One of the obelisk boys said to a tall greenish blue haired boy. "Yah, put your shirt on and lets go." Another said.

"Ok." Zane said calmly. He was about to pull on his black sleeveless shirt, when all three boys heard a crash. They quickly turned around and saw that someone had tripped over the benches, but not just any some one.

"Hey!" one of the boys shouted. "What's a girl doing in here?" Zane pulled on his shirt and the three boys walked over to the girl.

"Ow." She said quietly. The one boy helped her to her feet, and then frowned at her.

"Who are you and what are you doing in the boy's locker room?" he asked.

"Sorry." Kuronu said, rubbing her arm. "I'm new here and I sort of got lost." She said half laughing. Zane narrowed his eyes. "You're not an obelisk, are you?" he asked. The brown hair girl shook her head.

"Nope, I'm a slifer." The two boys gasped, Zane raised an eye brow.

"A girl in slifer? There hasn't been a girl in slifer since, well….. Never I don't think."

"Then if your not an obelisk, why are you even in the obelisk section?" Zane asked.

"I was told that Fonda Fontaine had my uniform, so I came to get it." The two UN named boys looked at Zane. Zane nodded. "Fine, what's your name?" he asked.

"Kuronu k- uh……." Zane looked at her as though he knew what she had nearly said. "Kaya! My name is Kuronu Kaya Ishahara." She said smiling. Zane folded his arms across his chest. "Right, I'm Zane Truesdale." He said calmly. Kuronu blinked.

"Zane Truesdale? Hey, you're syrus's brother." She said Zane blinked. "You've met Syrus?" he asked.

"Yah, he's one of my room mates." She said casually. The 3 boys were shocked. "Your room mates with a boy!" the one obelisk shouted. "3 boys actually." Kuronu corrected. Ok, now this was getting scary. Zane cleared his throat, still in disbelief that she would be put in the same room with guys, but he shrugged it off.

"You have no sense of direction, do you?" Zane asked her. The girl shook her head once more. "Then tell you what, I'll take you to the girls dinner room (place thinger) so you can get your uniform from Miss Fontaine." Kuronu smiled. "Would you really?" she asked happily. Zane slowly nodded.

"I'll see you guys in a little bit." He said to his two friends. Zane had no idea why he was doing this, but he couldn't just up and change his mind, now could he? Well, technically he could, but he isn't that mean, is he?

Zane led Kuronu through a bunch of halls, and then crossed into the girls section. Kuronu looked at each wall and painting carefully, she liked seeing other people's houses and how they decorated them. Zane walked up to a large door and turned around to look at Kuronu, but she wasn't there.

"Kuronu?" he called. "Oh great, now she's lost again." Zane ran back down the hall and looked around. Then he saw her walking down a different hall (this place is very big) and began to run after her. She was looking at one of the paintings on the wall, when he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Kuronu," he started, but she whirled around and kicked him in the stomach before he could say anymore. Zane flew back and hit the wall. Kuronu was about to attack again, when she suddenly noticed who she had attacked.

"Zane!" she cried, then quickly ran over and knelt by his side. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you, are you ok?" she said very quickly. Zane slowly stood up and leaned against the wall. Man, could this girl kick.

"I'm fine. Why did you run off?" he asked, looking not very happy. Kuronu looked at the walls.

"This hallway looked so shinny from back there." She said happily. Zane was shocked. "Shinny?" he asked. Well, it did look a bit shinny. Zane sighed. "C'mon, the girl's party is right up there" Zane led Kuronu back to the large brown door. He opened it, and smiled at Kuronu.

"There you go." One of the girls saw Zane, and unfortunately she was one of his many fan girls. "Zane!" she shouted. Every single girl in the room looked towards where he was standing.

"Uh." He said quietly.

"Zane?" Alexis said, walking towards him. "Hi, help Kuronu, will you Lex, bye." He pushed Kuronu forward then walked away. "Who are you?" Jasmine asked. "Hi, I'm Kuronu Ishahara, I'm new here, and I'm a slifer." "Then if you're a slifer, why are you in the obelisk section?" Alexis asked. Kuronu gulped.

"I was told that Fonda Fontaine had my uniform." She said quietly. The gym teacher walked up to the young girl.

"Well, if your in slifer, then why would I have your uniform?" she asked. Kuronu blinked. "Uh, cuz you're a… um……drat." She said quietly. "Where in the world would you get the idea that she had it?" Jasmine asked.

"Doctor Crowler." Kuronu said. Alexis narrowed her eyes. "That snake." She muttered. "Kuronu," Alexis started. "Crowler hates slifers. He'll do anything he can to get them expelled. He probably told you that's so you'd get expelled. Professor Banner is the one who'll have your uniform." She finished. "Oh." Kuronu said quietly.

"Well, sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." Kuronu said. "That's ok." Miss Fontaine told her. Kuronu walked out of the room, and then began to look for the way out.

15 minuets later

Kuronu sighed. This place was huge. Kuronu looked at the ground and began to start walking with out even looking where she was going. After banging into several walls, she heard voices, but she didn't care, she kept walking. But though she didn't know it, she walked right into the room where the guys were having their party. (Don't ask why everyone's having a party, they just are) Kuronu kept walking and somehow didn't bang into anyone, until she got near the back of the room.

"I still can't believe a slifer girl got into the boys locker room." One of the obelisk blue guys said. Zane smirked. "I can't believe that she's in the same room as my brother." Suddenly, he felt something bump into him. "What the-?" Zane looked behind him and saw:

"Kuronu?" the girl looked up at the taller boy. "I got lost." She said as tears welled up in her eyes. Zane couldn't believe this.

"Did you get your uniform?" he asked. "No." she said flatly. "Mr. Banner has it." She said. "I got lost." She said again. Zane sighed. "Where do you need to go?" he asked.

"sniff to the slifer dorms." She answered. "C'mon." Zane told her. Just then, Crowler got up on the stage thing and was about to make a speech when Kuronu shouted

"YOU!" Kuronu ran up to where Crowler was and glared at him.

"What's this?" crowler said looking at the girl. "A girl in the boys section? I think this calls for-"

"You lied to me." Kuronu said, pointing a finger at him. "You lied to me, and don't you dare say you were being sarcastic." Crowler looked at the girl. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"You said that Fonda Fontaine had it just so that I would go to the obelisk section and you could expel me." Kuronu said. "Well, I haven't the faintest idea of what your talking about, but you should be expelled for coming to the obelisk section AND the boys!" Kuronu was about to retaliate, when Zane grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

"I'll take care of it sir!" he yelled back to Crowler. Zane didn't stop running until he reached the doors of the obelisk building.

"Ok, now go out these doors; follow the path until there's a split. Take the right path, and it will lead you to the slifer dorms, ok?" Kuronu just looked at him for a moment, and then nodded. Kuronu said goodbye to him, and followed his instructions. She soon found herself in front of the slifer meal place.

"Wow, I can't believe I didn't get lost. Thank you Zane." She said as she walked to the door. She opened it and immediately Jaden called out to her.

"Kuronu!" Kuronu smiled at him as he ran up to her. "Did you get your uniform?" he asked. "No." she answered. Mr. Banner picked up pharaoh and walked over to her.

"So, you are Kuronu." "Yes sir." She said. "Um, do you by any chance have my uniform?" she asked him. Banner scratched his chin then replied. "I'm sorry, but it's in the main registration building." He told her. Kuronu nearly fainted.

"And where's that?" She asked. Banner told her where to go, but his directions were no where near as good as Zane's. Kuronu bid Jaden good bye as she left to search for her uniform once again. She walked around for what seemed like hours, but couldn't find the building anywhere. She was about to go back and get Jaden to help her, but found that she couldn't find the slifer eating place anymore.

"Aw! It vanished off of the face of the earth!" Kuronu shouted. Kuronu decided that yelling wasn't going to help, she tried looking again.

"Mill, mill, mill." She said repeatedly after walking around. Finally, she looked up and saw that she was right in front of the obelisk section.

"How'd I end here?" she asked. So she shrugged and decided to find Zane. After looking for the doors for about 10 minuets, she found herself in front of a huge window and inside she could see:

"Hey Zane." One of the obelisk boys said. "Isn't that the girl who got lost?" Zane looked where the boy was pointing and saw Kuronu, forehead pressed against the window, tears in her eyes, and waving sadly at him.

It didn't take long for Zane to find Kuronu, and when he did, she greeted him with a hug. "Let me guess." He said after he managed to get her off. "You got lost, and couldn't find the slifer dorms." Kuronu shook her head no. "Nope. I found the slifer dorms, but then Mr. Banner said that my uniform was in the main registration building."

"And that's what you can't find?" Zane asked her. "That's what I can't find." Kuronu answered. Zane sighed, and shook his head. "C'mon." Zane led her to the registration building and decided that he should just take her to the room that the uniforms were in so that she didn't get lost in there. Kuronu quickly changed into it after they found it. (No, Zane was not in the same room). When Kuronu walked out of the room she had changed in, Zane had to admit he was rather impressed. She had no sense of direction and was rather dense and pathetic, but her beauty made up for it all. Her uniform was like the obelisk girl uniforms. She had a red skirt and a black sleeveless shirt with a red sleeveless blazer over it.

"Well, what do think?" Kuronu asked the boy. "I think red is defiantly your color." He replied. Kuronu smiled. Zane led her outside, and then told her how to get to the slifer dorms once more.

"Ok." She said to herself after Zane had left. "No more getting lost. I'm going to concentrate and find it."

20 minuets later

"Maybe concentrating wasn't such a good idea." Kuronu said as she looked around. She was somewhere in the woods. Kuronu soon saw the obelisk dorms and decided that her best bet would be to find Zane.

Zane was about to take a sip of ice tea from his cup, when he felt something.

tug, tug

Zane saw that it was Kuronu who had tugged on his white and blue blazer. He slowly set down the cup and looked at the girl. "You got lost." He said before she could. Kuronu nodded. "I tried really hard this time, but I think that was the problem." She said

Zane sighed. C'mon." In no time, Kuronu and Zane were standing outside of the slifer eating place.

"Now please tell me I can go back and know that you won't get lost?" Zane asked.

Kuronu smiled. "I promise. Uh, sorry that I kept making you leave your party."

"It's ok." With that, Zane walked back to the obelisk dorms. Kuronu suddenly realized how hungry she was and ran through the door, but when she got in; only the janitor was there, cleaning stuff up.

"Um." She said looking around. "Sorry kid." The janitor said to here. "Party's over." Kuronu looked around. "Is there any food left?" she asked. "Nope." He answered. Kuronu nearly fainted.

This was the worst night of her life. Kuronu went out side and began to look for her room.

"Now, which one was mine?"

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Ok, sorry that towards the end that I didn't put much detail in and just sorta told what happened, but I've been typing this for nearly 2 hours, and my neck is really sore, and I'm starving. Ok, I wont update until get at least 2 reviews. Ravenforeverdark, you don't count!


	3. the eggwhich

Authoresses note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed my story, and thank you to those of you who put me on your fav story list. It really means a lot to me. Ok, enough of the mushy stuff, and on with the story.

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Chapter 3: insert stupid chapter title that I can't think of here.

Kuronu rolled over onto her side and stared at jaden who was fast asleep on the floor.

Previous night.

Kuronu had finally found her uniform and was now back at the slifer dorm (unfortunately, by the time she got back, dinner was over.) now all she had to do was find her dorm room. It shouldn't be that hard. All she had to do was find the room with Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley in it.

30 minuets later

Jaden rubbed his wet hair with his red towel as he, Syrus, Chazz, and Chumley walked back to their dorm after taking a shower.

"I hope Kuronu got her uniform and got back ok. This place is pretty big; I hope I hope she didn't get lost." Jaden said to his two friends.

"Yah," Chumley agreed. "She missed all of dinner."

"I'm sure she's fine." Syrus said continently. "Kuronu is a very smart, sophisticated, and beautiful girl. There's no way she could get lost."

"Yah might want to re-consider that." Chazz said, pointing to a girl on the second floor of the dorm, who looked like she was crying. "Kuronu!" jaden yelled as he ran up to her.

"Jaden!" Kuronu said once he was in front of her. "Kuronu, what happened?" Kuronu sniffed. "I can't find our room." Chazz rolled his eyes, and then pointed to the door right behind the girl. "Its right there you nimrod." Chazz told her. Kuronu blinked, and then opened the door that Chazz had indicated, and sure enough, there it was.

"Oh." She said turning a bright shade of red. All four boys sweat dropped. Jaden smiled. "It's ok, it's only your first night here, and you'll soon know which room is room is which."

"Well if you ask me you should get a big blinking sign shaped like an arrow that points to your door saying, 'Kuronu, this is your dorm, not the one next to it, or the one down the hall, this one.'" Chazz said sarcastically. Jaden glared at him. "Well, we didn't ask you." Chazz shrugged and walked away.

Jaden turned back to Kuronu and smiled once again (though isn't he always smiling?)

"Well, c'mon." Jaden walked in side, soon followed by Kuronu, Syrus, and Chumley. Jaden stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. "Uh-oh."

"What's wrong Jaden?" Syrus asked the brown haired boy. "There are four of us, right?" Jaden asked them. "Right." Chumley replied. "Yah, well, there's only three beds." Jaden finished. Kuronu walked forward so that she was standing next to Jaden.

"I can sleep on the floor." She said, placing her hand on his shoulder. Jaden looked utterly shocked. "What!" he shouted. "You got to be kidding me. There's no way I'm letting you sleep on the floor. I'll sleep on the floor." Kuronu was a bit shocked that Jaden would get mad about something like that, but smiled none the less.

"Thank you Jaden." She said softly.

Present time; morning

Kuronu smiled and closed her eyes as Jaden rolled over and shouted something about doughnuts in his sleep. Kuronu was about to fall back to sleep when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Jaden's huge brown eyes staring at her.

"AAAAHHHH!" she screamed, sitting up, but forgetting about the bunk above her, thus hitting her head. Syrus was so startled by the scream that he sat straight up, but was so tired that he wasn't thinking straight, and so fell off the bed and onto Jaden. Kuronu looked at the two boys, wrestling the sheet that had fallen on top of them. Jaden had just gotten the sheet of his head, when Chumley woke up.

"What's going on?" he asked. Syrus' head popped out of the mess of sheets and gave a pleading look to Chumley. "Please Chumley, don't fall on us too." Kuronu blinked, and then giggled.

"What's so funny?" Jaden asked, standing up. "You guys." She answered. Jaden looked at Syrus who was still trying to get the sheet off of him, then also started laughing. "Well, c'mon. We have to get going, or we'll be late for class. Kuronu nodded and climbed out of bed. Since she was a girl, and her roommates were boys, she had been forced to change in the small, too small, and very small closet, which was hard because as I said, it was small, too small, and very small. So after about 15 minuets of nearly falling through the door and into the main room (which she really didn't want to do) she finally managed to get her skirt and shirt on (she put her blazer and shoes on out there)

Kuronu buttoned up her red blazer and pulled on her shoes. Jaden looked at Kuronu, feeling that something was missing.

"You look really good in that Kuronu. Red's really your color." Jaden commented. Kuronu blushed. "Uh, thanks." "But there's just something weird about it." Jaden continued. Kuronu looked in the mirror. "What are you talking about Jaden?" syrus said. "She looks fine to me."

Jaden smiled and snapped his fingers. "Ah-ha." He said walking over to Kuronu. He turned Kuronu around so that she was facing him. He unbuttoned her blazer so that it looked like his, then he stepped back and looked at her. "Uh-huh." He said. "Now you look like a slifer. Kuronu blinked. "Um, thanks Jaden, I think."

Syrus looked at his neatly buttoned blazer, then at jaden. "Does that mean that I don't look like a slifer?" he asked. Jaden smiled at the shorter boy. "Don't be silly. Of course you look like a slifer. I just think that Kuronu looks better with her blazer like that, doesn't look quite as stuffy." Kuronu smiled at jaden again.

"Thanks Jay, that really means a lot to me." Jaden looked a bit surprised. "It does?" he asked. Kuronu nodded. "Ok, if you say so."

"Ok, enough of this mushy stuff, lets go eat breakfast, I'm starving." Chumley said, walking over to the door. "You think you're starving?" Kuronu asked following him. "At least you had dinner last night."

After breakfast, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and Kuronu ran over to the main building. "Ok," Jaden said, pointing to the roundish building. "This is where we have all of our classes. Down that path." He said, pointing to one of the paths. "Is the way to the Ra yellow dorms, and down that way. "He said pointing to the last path, "Is-" "Is the way to the obelisk dorms." Kuronu finished for him.

"Hey, good job." Jaden said. "Hey look." Syrus said, pointing to the three obelisk girls. "There's Alexis."

"Hey guys." Alexis said cheerfully. "Hey Lex." Jaden replied. "This is-"

"Kuronu." Alexis said before Jaden could. "You know her?" syrus asked "Yah." Mindy answered. "We met her last night." Alexis told the three boys. "Oooohhh." Jaden said. "Well, we should get to class; other wise Crowler might give us extra home work." Alexis said, walking towards the entrance.

Kuronu wanted to go exploring now, but Jaden had said that he'd show her around after lunch. They soon arrived at the class room and looked around for a place to sit. Kuronu couldn't get over how big everything was here, well, except the slifer dorms which she couldn't get over how small they were.

Then someone caught her eye. "Hey." Syrus said, also noticing who had walked in. "Why's Zane in here?" Alexis looked at Zane, then back at the slifer. "Zane's class was canceled because their teacher was sick, so everyone in that class is here until their teacher gets better." Alexis told them.

Syrus noticed Kuronu's stare. "Yah, that's my brother. He's a really good duelist, well, that's why he's the king of DA, but mom says I have all the looks." Syrus said. Kuronu looked at the blue hair boy, then at Zane.

"You don't say?" Kuronu said as though she didn't believe him. "So, where do we sit?" she asked Jaden.

"We usually sit near the front, unless you want to sit some where else." Jaden told her. Kuronu looked at Zane. He and his friends were sitting at the top on the other side of the room. "Um, lets sit up here." Kuronu said sitting down on the top row. Jaden nodded.

After a few minuets, Crowler finally walked into the room. "Ok, as you can see, some of the seniors are going to be joining us for a few weeks. Now lets begin." Crowler said. Basically the only thing they did was learn about what the different duel monster cards did, and what types of magic and trap cards there were, and stuff like that.

Zane was doing the best out of everyone there. He was obviously the smartest. Kuronu couldn't stop staring at him. She didn't know why, well, actually she did. Kuronu was so busy day dreaming that she nearly didn't hear crowler. "Kuronu," he said to her.

"What is the function of a magic card?" Crowler asked the young girl. Kuronu looked at Jaden, and then slowly stood up.

"Well, there are lots of different functions. Some make a monster stronger, some make a monster weaker, and some destroy other magic cards, while some destroy trap cards. I guess you could say that the function of a magic card is to, help you in duels." She answered.

"Well," Crowler said. "I guess that could be a correct answer, but that's not really what I had in mind. Lets try asking some one else, some one who isn't in red." Most of the obelisk blues laughed. Kuronu sat down and glared at Crowler.

"But there isn't an exact function of a magic card." She whispered to Jaden. "I know, Crowler does that to me and Syrus all the time." Jaden replied.

After class, was lunch, this was good because Kuronu didn't really eat breakfast because it was broccoli soup, and that wasn't very appealing to Kuronu, so she was really hopping for something good for lunch.

"So, what's for lunch?" Kuronu asked Jaden on the way to the place where they got lunch.

"Today's sandwich day." Jaden said excitedly. "What kinds of sandwiches are there?" she asked. "Well that's the thing." Jaden said leading her to the giant bin of sandwiches.

"There are lots of different ones. Most of which are really disgusting like green goopy stuff, or sardines and none of the packages are labeled." Kuronu looked at the bin, and sure enough, none were labeled. "But," Jaden continued.

"There's one good sandwich, the egg-which." Jaden said, digging through the bin. "But there's only one egg-which sandwich a day, so only one person gets it." Kuronu blinked. Weren't there any good meals here?

"Hey Jaden." Miss Dorothy called from the counter. "Who's your new friend?" Jaden led Kuronu over to the older woman and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hi miss Dorothy. This is Kuronu; she's our new room mate." Miss Dorothy blinked.

"A girl is in slifer? A girl has to share a room with 3 guys!" Kuronu smiled. "I know. But I'm getting along fine so far." Kuronu told her. "That's good." Miss Dorothy said.

"So, has anyone found the egg-which yet?" Jaden asked her. Miss Dorothy shook her head no. "Not yet." She told them. "But maybe you'll have beginners luck." She told Kuronu.

Kuronu smiled. "I hope so." The two slifers walked over to the bin again, just as Alexis and Zane entered

"Hey guys." Alexis greeted them. "Anyone fined the egg-which yet?" Jaden shook his head no. "Hey Zane." Syrus said shyly to his older brother. Zane merely nodded.

"Uh." Kuronu said smiling up at Zane. "Hi Zane." She said shyly. Zane almost smiled when he saw her. "I trust you found your dorm room ok." Kuronu looked at the floor. "Well,"

"No," Chazz said walking over to the group. "She didn't find her dorm room ok. I'm telling you, this girl has no sense of direction." Alexis folded her arms across her chest. "Thanks Chazz, but we really didn't need your input." She said sternly.

Chazz shrugged, then walked over to the bin and began to dig through it in hopes of finding the egg-which. Syrus looked at Kuronu who was staring at Zane, then at Zane who was also looking for a good sandwich.

"Kuronu," Syrus said, wondering about her strange look. "You've met Zane already?" Zane stopped digging, and Kuronu stopped staring. "Yes." They both said together.

"Really, when?" Jaden asked, looking at the many sandwiches.

"Last night." Kuronu answered. "Ah-ha!" chazz shouted. "The egg-which! It's mine!" Chazz took a bite of the sandwich, but immediately spit it out. "Ok, never mind. That's not the egg-which." Jaden started laughing so hard that he couldn't stand anymore. Alexis and Zane smirked.

Zane finally ripped open one of the rappers of the sandwiches and tried to take the top part of the bun off (he learned long ago to see what's in the sandwich before you eat it, isn't he smart?) But the green sticky goopy stuff in the middle kept him from taking the bun off. He Then let go off the bottom half of the sandwich so that he was just holding the top half, and the bottom half was just hanging there, the only thing keeping it from dropping to the floor was the disgusting green sticky slimy goopy stuff. Everyone stared at in disgust.

"This should be illegal." Zane said as he tossed the "sandwich" into the trash can. "I think I'll skip lunch today." He said staring at some kid that had gotten this weird purple stuff.

"Good idea." Alexis agreed. "We'll see you guys later."

"Bye Zane." Kuronu said to him as he began to walk away. Kuronu turned a bright shade of red as she watched the obelisk walk away. She was so intent on staring at him, that she didn't even notice Jaden's hand waving in front oh her.

"Hello? Kuronu?" he asked again. "Huh? What did you say?" the brown haired girl asked, finally hearing his attempts of getting her back to reality.

"Are you ok?" Jaden asked. "You've been staring at him all day." Kuronu blushed again. "Huh? No I haven't." She argued. Jaden shrugged and continued his search for the egg-which.

Chazz had also decided to skip lunch (he wasn't feeling so good anymore.) After a few minuets of trying to decide which sandwich to try, Kuronu finally picked one.

"Ok, really hopping that it's the egg-which." She said as she opened the rapper. Kuronu closed her eyes as she took a bite.

"C'mon egg-which." Jaden said picking up his third sandwich. "YAY!" he heard some one shout from behind. He turned around and saw Kuronu jumping up and down. "I got the egg-which Jaden, and on my first try too!" Jaden smiled. He was happy that Kuronu had gotten it.

"Way to go." Jaden said clapping. "Lucky." Chumley said as he finished his sardine sandwich. Kuronu looked at the sandwich, then at the 3 boys standing in front of her.

"Here." She said, ripping the sandwich into 4 equal parts and handing them each a piece. "I would give one to Chazz, but he's not here, besides, it might just make him feel even sicker.

Each of the boys took a piece, but didn't start eating it. "Kuronu, this is your sandwich, we can't have it." Kuronu shook her head. "But Jaden, I want you to have it. You guys have been so awesome to me." Chumley thanked her and shoved the small piece into his mouth. Syrus and Jaden also reluctantly ate it, not wanting to argue about something so stupid.

After lunch, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley gave Kuronu a tour of the whole island, which took about all afternoon (I have no idea how many classes they have) And after that, went to dinner.

"Congratulations." Jaden said to Kuronu as they sat down. "You've made it to your first dinner at the duel academy." Kuronu smiled. Chazz hadn't been seen all day, but had apparently felt well enough now so that he could have dinner.

"Hi Chazz, feeling better?" Kuronu asked him as she sat down next to Jaden. Chazz didn't reply. "Well, I see your very talkative." She said smirking. Chazz glared at her. She was getting annoying. "Whatever." Chazz.

Kuronu smiled. "Is he always this happy?" she asked Jaden. Jaden smirked.

"Oh yah, Chazz is one of the happiest people I've ever met." The 4 slifers all started laughing. Chazz glared at them. "Very funny." After dinner, they all went back to the dorm room and got ready for bed (Kuronu really hated that small, too small, and very small closet.)

"So," Jaden began to ask Kuronu. "How'd you like your first day at the duel academy?"

Kuronu smiled at the slifer boy. "It was really fun." Jaden sat down on one of the chairs by the desks. "Tomorrow we're going to have to ask for another bed." Jaden said glancing around the room.

"Where would we put it?" Kuronu asked. "We could get rid of the desks and put it against the wall." Syrus said as he climbed into his bunk. Jaden smirked. "We could do that."

Kuronu was about to respond when she got a message on her little duel academy palm pilot thinga ma bober(how am I supposed to know what the blasted thing is?eh-hem moving on) Kuronu picked it up and stared at the screen as the message played.

"Who's it from?" Chumley asked. Kuronu didn't answer for a moment. "It's from Chancellor Shepard." Jaden was confused.

"Chancellor Shepard? Hey, maybe you're getting your own room." Syrus said. "Maybe." Kuronu said putting her thing back down on the table.

"What does he want?" Jaden inquired. "He wants me to meet him in his office tomorrow morning." She said climbing under the blankets. "At 8:00 am." She finished. "Well, let's hope it's a good thing." Jaden said, walking over to the light switch. Kuronu nodded as Jaden switched off the light.

"Good night Jaden, goodnight Chumley, good night Kuronu." Syrus said.

"Night Sy, Jaden, Kuronu." Chumley said.

"Good night Sy, Chumley, Kuronu." Jaden said (garg, this is getting annoying.)

"Good night Syrus, good night Jaden, good night Chumlet." Kuronu said.

"It's Chumley.'"

"Oh, right,meh, nighty night."

"Nighty night?"

"Just go to sleep Jaden."

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Ok, I've finally finished. I'm not going to update until I get at least 2 reviews, but I wont update anyways until probably next Monday because I'm going to my grandparents for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Yah, it's gonna be fun, they live 5 hours away and we're bringing our two puppies that get car sick. Oh well, they only sit on my sis's lap so it's not really a problem for me.

Ravenforeverdark: glare, glare wanna bet little sister?

Creonix fire: Um,….. happy thanksgiving everyone.random turkey runs by


	4. meeting with the Chancellor

thankies: Ok, right now, I'm just gonna do a quick thank you thing ok. Thank you so much emotional-writer for reviewing every chapter so far, you're awesome. Thank you everyone else who also reviewed. And thank you all the other people for who put me on their favorites list or alert list, you guys are awesome.

Warnings: I should have done this in the first chapter, but I forgot so I'll do it now. Constructive criticism is welcome, just try to be nice 'cause my feelings can get hurt very easily. Flamers, get lost. If you don't like my story, leave and don't say anything. If you flame me, I'll flame you back, and believe me, I can get nasty when I want to(you don't need to know this, but one time I accidentally cursed at someone for shooting me with a water gun, and I NEVER curse, ok)

Ok, that's everything, so on with the story.

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Chapter four: insert another stupid title that I can't think of here.

Kuronu had gotten a call from Chancellor Shepard last night, saying he wanted to see her in his office the at 8:00 am the next morning, so Kuronu had decided to get up a bit earlier so that she could get ready. Even though the others were still asleep, she decided to still change in the small, too small, and very small closet just to be safe.

Kuronu quietly tip toed out of the dorm room and went outside and ran towards the docks. Kuronu always like to get up early, the wind was always so nice and the sky was usually always blue and gold, depending on what type of day it was.

Kuronu closed her eyes and breathed in the cool morning air.

"Well, I see I'm not the only one who likes to get up early." Kuronu turned around to see who had spoken to her.

"Zane, um, good morning". Kuronu said as Zane walked over to her without replying. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" Zane asked the slifer girl.

"Well," Kuronu began. "Last night I got a message from Chancellor Shepard, saying that he wanted me to come to his office this morning, so I decided to get up a bit early." Zane smiled.

"It is very nice at this time in the morning, isn't it?"

Kuronu nodded. She was completely shocked that someone like Zane, a 3 year obelisk, king of duel academy would even bother talking to a first year slifer like her. Zane folded his arms across his chest and stared out into the sea, er, ocean, whatever it is.

Kuronu tried not to stare at the obelisk too much, but everyday she was finding it harder not to do so.

"So," Zane began, breaking the uncomfortable silence that wafted over them. "What time are you to meat Chancellor Shepard?"

"Um, around eight o'clock." Kuronu replied. Zane nodded. "Then you have quite a wait, don't you?" Kuronu nodded.

"Soooo," Kuronu said, having no idea what to say to him. "You come out here often?" she asked. Zane didn't answer for a few moments.

"I usually come out here at night, but this morning I woke up and just felt like coming out here." He replied. Kuronu nodded again.

"You always come here alone?" Kuronu had no idea why she asked that. Zane smirked.

"Nah, I usually come out here with Alexis." He informed her. Kuronu nodded again.

"I guess you and Alexis are pretty close." Zane almost laughed, almost, but not quite.

"Yah, I guess you could say that, but not quite like that." Kuronu nodded, AGAIN.

Kuronu scratched her arm nervously. She was making herself look like an idiot, she could feel it. "You liking the academy so far?" Kuronu shrugged and did this weird head thing. "So far, but I've only been here for like, 1 and a half days." Zane smirked. "That's true."

Kuronu glanced at Zane. She then noticed something. "Every time I see you, you're always standing like that." She said. Zane raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?" he asked. "Like that." She said. "You're always just standing there with your arms folded across your chest." Zane looked at his arms and put them down at his side. "Well, I guess I do." Kuronu smiled.

"You almost look like my dad." Kuronu said. Zane blinked. "Your dad?" he asked.

"Uh, my dad um, always stands like that." Kuronu said very fast. Zane narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you look like your dad?" Kuronu blinked.

"Do I look like my, uh…. Well, people have always said that I look more like mom." Kuronu said rubbing the back of her head. Zane smiled. "Then your mom must be really pretty." Zane muttered. Kuronu blushed. "What did you say?" she asked nervously. "Nothing." He replied, folding his arms back over his chest.

"Well." Kuronu said, swinging her arms by her side. "I should probably get going." She said smiling.

Zane nodded. Kuronu slowly walked past Zane, then began to run to the main building, but stopped. "Bye Zane." She called out to him. Zane looked at her and smiled. Kuronu smiled back at him for a moment, and then ran towards the main building.

**Chancellor Shepard's office**

"Well Kuronu, first things first. Fonda Fontaine has agreed to let you bathe in the obelisk girl's bath house whenever you need."

Kuronu smiled. "Yes."

"Also, another bed shall be delivered to your dorm this evening." Kuronu smiled again. Things just kept getting better and better. "And last, there's something of extreme importance I need to talk to you about." Kuronu's smile slowly faded. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say.

**Outside**

Jaden was leaning against one of the statute things outside of the main building, waiting for Kuronu. When he had woken up, she was already gone.

"I hope she didn't get lost." Jaden said checking his watch. Syrus smiled. "Jaden, it's only 8:15, she'll be here any minuet now." Jaden nodded, he was still hopping that she didn't get lost.

"Hey Jaden." Alexis waved at him as she ran over to where he was standing. "Hey guys, where's Kuronu?" she asked.

"She had a meeting with Chancellor Shepard this morning." Chumley informed her.

"Oh yah, Zane told me." Alexis said. Jaden blinked. "How'd Zane know?" He asked.

Alexis smiled. "Zane said he met her this morning by the docks."

"Kuronu sure does run into him a lot." Jaden commented. Alexis smirked. "She does, doesn't she?" All three slifer boys looked at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Syrus asked. Alexis was about to reply when they saw Kuronu running out of the building.

"Hey guys." She greeted them.

"What did Chancellor Shepard want to talk to you about?" Jaden asked.

"Um, lets see, I can take a bath in the obelisk girl dorm, and they're gonna give us another bed tonight."

"That's awesome!" Jaden said. Kuronu smiled and nodded.

"C'mon." Alexis said. "We should get to class." After a few classes they had lunch.

"Today's grilled cheese day!" Chumley shouted.

Then one more class (or two, I don't know) then they had the rest of the day off to explore and duel and whatever else they wanted. Jaden and Chazz dueled, Jaden won, but just barley. And after that Syrus and Chumley dueled, Sy won.

"You wanna duel, Kuronu?" Jaden asked as Syrus jumped up and down because he was happy that he was getting better at dueling. Kuronu smiled, but shook her head no.

"No thanks." She replied. "Ok, if you're sure." Jaden said.

"Do you know what we should do tonight?" Syrus asked as he and Chumley walked over to them. "We should play that game where we draw a card and we tell a scary story depending on what level the monster is."

Kuronu blinked. "Huh?" Jaden smiled. "It's easy. We take a duel deck and put all the monster cards in a pile, and then one at a time, we draw a monster. If it's a low level monster, we tell a story that isn't that scary, but if it's a high level monster, we tell a really scary story."

Kuronu smiled. "Awesome." She said. "Yah, we'll play after dinner." Jaden told her.

"Ok, but I wanted to get a bath tonight." Kuronu told them.

"Oh." Jaden said. "Then we'll play really late at night to make it scarier." Kuronu giggled. "Awesome."

**Later that night.**

Kuronu quickly ran to the girls locker room (she got a map) and began to take her clothes off (she has a swimsuit on underneath, I go by the dubbed, mostly) the shower bath place, whatever was huge. There was a huge swimming pool with a fountain in the middle filled with warm water and a few bubles.

"Awesome." Kuronu whispered. Apparently everyone was still having dinner, since no one was there. "Wow. I think this is better than my bath tub at home."

**Slifer dorm**

Jaden put his deck (without the spell and trap cards) in the middle of the table and looked at the four other people playing, Syrus, Chumley, Kuronu, and Chazz.

"Ok, who wants to go first?" Jaden asked. "I'll go first." Kuronu said, reaching for a card.

"Please don't be to scary." Syrus muttered. "Please be scary." Kuronu muttered. Kuronu picked up a card and flipped it over.

"Kuriboh!" Chazz said, laughing. "This is gonna be lame." He said. Kuronu smirked. "Ok, I've got a story." She said putting the card down.

"When I was little, I would always get up early so that I could watch my favorite show. 10,000 ways to kill your enemy." She said.

"O.o….." Was the others response.

"But one day, when I turned on the TV, my show wasn't on, instead, something else was." Syrus gasped. "What was it." He asked. Kuronu smirked. "It was called: 'telitubies.'" She said in a deep voice. The 4 boys gasped. "It was horrible. Little multi colored alien things would run around in green fields with bunnies, and make these weird farting sounds and-"

"Stop!" Kuronu stopped talking and looked to see who had demanded her to stop.

Chazz was now at the other end of the room, huddled under a table. Kuronu walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Chazz?" She asked. "Aww!" he shrieked. Kuronu blinked. "Are you…..ok?" she asked. Chazz looked at her with big, scared eyes.

"That… was…. The scariest… story….I've ever heard." He said.

"Ok, then no more. Do you want me to hold your hand?" Chazz glared at her. "No! I'm not a baby." Chazz said standing up, but he had forgotten that he was under a table, thus banged his head on it.

Jaden, Syrus, Kuronu, and Chumley chuckled as Chazz walked back to the table. "What?" he asked, sitting down. "Nothing." Jaden said. "Ok my turn." Kuronu smiled as Jaden drew his card. "Yes, an 8 star monster." Syrus gulped. "Oh boy."

"_I can tell that life is never going to be the same again."_ Kuronu thought to herself.

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Ok, a lame ending I know, but I couldn't think of anything else. So there ya go, wont update again until I get at least 3 reviews this time. Ok, if I get 3 reviews by the end of this week, I'll try to update. Remember. There's no excuse for not reviewing, unless you go to school and you have a ton of homework, or if your in collage and you have a class and a ton of homework, or if you have evil little brothers like mine, or you're baby sitting kids and you have to watch them, or you're baby sitting kids and they're burning the house down, or-

Ravenforeverdark: Creonix!

Creonix fire: yes dear beloved sister?

Ravenforeverdark: they get it. Just end the chapter.

Creonix fire: ok.


	5. Kuronu's crush

Authoresses note: Ok, SOOOO sorry for not updating in so long, I've just been kinda lazy and haven't felt like writing, but I decided that I needed too update before I forgot what few ideas I have so far for this story, ok, yah. So, thanks everyone who reviewed and stuff, constructive critism is welcome, just try to be nice, and NO flames, or I'll flame you back, and then my sis will go and apologize to them. Ok, I'm done, On with the story. And I don't care about stupid fragmenting!

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Chapter 5:

Syrus looked at Jaden, and then at Kuronu, and then at Jaden, then Kuronu, then Jaden, and then Kuronu as the two hit the tennis ball back and forth to each other.

"Ugh." He said, shaking his head. "I'm starting to get dizzy."

"How long are they gonna play?" Chumley asked.

"Who knows." Alexis answered.

Jaden and Kuronu had been playing that one game of tennis for almost a half an hour.

"I thought you said you were bad at tennis!" Kuronu called to Jaden as she hit the ball back to him.

"I am!" Jaden responded, returning the ball. "So either your making me better, or you're as bad as me!" Kuronu smirked. She was starting to get tired of running back and forth and hitting a ball around with a weird stick. What was the point of this game? It was like football, completely pointless (no offence to sports fans or players)

Jaden whacked the ball so hard that it went flying to the other end of the court.

"I'll get it!" Kuronu said, running after the ball. Jaden put his hands on his knees and caught his breath while Kuronu chased the ball.

"You've gotta stop hitting the ball so hard." Alexis told him. Jaden smiled at her.

Kuronu was amazed at how far the ball was going. "And why hasn't it fallen yet?" she asked herself. _"Hm." _She said noticing a bunch of obelisks talking. _"There's Zane."_ She thought to her self.Kuronu ran faster. The last thing she wanted was to hit Zane with the tennis ball.

"Hey Zane." One of the obelisks said. "Isn't that that slifer girl?" Zane looked at the girl who was running towards them, then at the tennis ball that she was chasing. The ball landed a few feet from Zane's feet. Kuronu ran over and picked up the ball.

"Hahaha!" Jaden called from where he was standing. "I won! I beat you Kuronu!" Kuronu rolled her eyes. "Nu-uh! The ball went out of bounds! So you're disqualified!" She shouted back.

Zane smirked. Kuronu couldn't help but turn around and smile at him. "Sorry the ball almost hit you Zane."

"That's ok." He said. "Um, you look different with your hair pulled back." He commented. Kuronu blushed. Kuronu had put her hair in a ponytail before the game, but after all the running, it was starting to come lose.

"Hey." One of the guys said, pointing a finger at Kuronu. "You look like someone I know with your hair pulled back like that." Kuronu blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't know, you just look like some guy I've seen on TV." Kuronu blushed.

"A guy!" she shouted. "Yah." He said. "You can't see your hair when it's pulled back like that." Kuronu scowled "Whatever." She said. Kuronu turned around and ran back to Jaden, but as she did so, her hair tie fell. Zane picked it up and watched as she ran back to her friends.

"Who does she look like?" the one obelisk asked.

A few seconds previous

Alexis raised an eyebrow as she watched Kuronu talk with Zane.

"What's up Alexis?" Jasmine asked her.

"Not sure." She replied. "What, are you jealous?" Mindy asked her, nudging her arm.

"For the last time." Alexis said pushing Mindy away. "I don't like Zane. We're just friends. Besides, I'm starting to get the feeling that someone else likes him." Alexis couldn't help smile as she watched Kuronu and Zane talk.

"Who wouldn't?" Mindy asked. "Zane is so hot; you'd be an idiot not to like him (no offence to girls who don't like him)" The others rolled their eyes.

"Honestly Mindy." Jasmine said putting her hands on her hips. "Some times I wonder if you're in love with every guy here." Mindy smiled. "Well, I wouldn't say every guy." Jasmine groaned. "You're hopeless." She said.

"But who do you think likes Zane?" Jaden asked. "Yah." Syrus said. "I mean seriously, who'd like Zane? Mom said that I'm the one with the looks." Mindy glared at Syrus. "Shut it pip squeak!"

"Isn't it obvious." Alexis said. "No." the others replied. Alexis groaned. "Haven't you ever noticed that whenever Kuronu is around Zane, her face gets all red, and she acts all embarrassed and she's always staring at him?"

"Um, no." Jaden answered. "But what's your point?" Alexis rolled her eyes.

"My point is, Jaden, that Kuronu likes Zane." Alexis told them. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley looked at each other, Jasmine and Mindy gasped.

"I like Zane too." Jaden told her, completely oblivious to what she meant. Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Your lucky that you're you Jaden, and that we know how dense you can be, or we might have taken that the wrong way."

Jaden blinked. Alexis smacked her forehead. "NO! Kuronu doesn't like Zane as a friend!" Alexis said. "She doesn't!" Jaden asked. "But you just said that she liked Zane." Syrus said. "I'm confused." The three slifers said together. Alexis was starting to get annoyed.

"No! Kuronu likes Zane, but not just as a friend." Jaden was still confused. "You're not making any sense Lex."

"Let me put it this way." Jasmine said calmly. "Kuronu is in love with Zane!" Alexis yelled before Jasmine could tell him without shouting. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley were shocked. Several people looked at them.

"You're lucky that Zane and Kuronu didn't hear you." Mindy said. Alexis blushed, then looked over and saw that Kuronu was running back towards them.

"Hey, I got the ball." She said, out of breath. Kuronu looked at her three slifer friends and noticed their strange looks. "Um, are you guys ok?"

Jaden nodded. "Kuronu." He said. "You-" Alexis quickly hit Jaden over the head with a tennis racket.

"OW!" he shouted. "What'd you do that for?" he asked rubbing his head. Alexis smiled.

"There's still time for one more game. Why don't you guys have one more round?"

"Ok." Kuronu said smiling at Jaden. Jaden nodded.

Alexis sighed with relief as the two walked over to the net. "That could have been bad." She said. Jasmine nodded. A few minuets passed, Kuronu had scored 9 times, while Jaden scored nothing.

"I can't believe how badly Jaden's playing." Syrus said.

"Think it has something to do with Kuronu liking Zane?" Jasmine asked.

"Maybe we shouldn't have told him." Syrus said. "Jaden might never be the same after this." Mindy blinked. "What does Jaden like Kuronu too?"

"What do you mean 'too'?" syrus asked.

"Haven't you noticed that nearly every single guy at duel academy likes her?" Alexis asked. Syrus shook his head. The girls sighed. "How come guys can never see when someone likes someone?" Jasmine asked.

"Yah!" Kuronu shouted. "That's 10 to nothing!" Kuronu started jumping up and down, Jaden smiled. "Good job kronu (that's her nick name)." He said. Kuronu and Jaden walked back to the others.

"Good job Kuronu." Syrus told her. "Thanks Sy." She said.

"Oh my gosh, Zane's coming over." Mindy squealed. Everyone looked to see that it was true. Kuronu blushed, and turned her head away from him.

"Hi Zane." Alexis greeted him. "Hey Lex." He said. Everyone looked at him for a moment with out saying anything.

"Uh, Kuronu." He said, walking towards her. Kuronu's face turned even redder, if that was possible. "Uh, yah?" She said scratching her arm.

"You dropped this." He said, handing her the hair tie that had fallen out. Kuronu took it and was about to put her hair back up, but Zane stopped her.

"I think you should leave it down, it looks better." He said smiling. Kuronu blushed even harder. She quickly put her hand down at her side and nodded.

"Well, I'll see you guys later." Zane said as he walked away. As Zane walked away, Jaden saw Chazz run towards them.

"You're late Chazz." Alexis said as she smiled at him. "Whatever, hey, what's up with Kronu?" he asked. Kuronu's face was bright red and she was staring hard at Zane as he walked back to his friends.

"It's a long story." Jasmine said. Chazz folded his arms across his chest. "Well I've got time." He said. "No you don't, sense it's time for dinner." Alexis informed them.

"Sweet." Chumley said. Kuronu suddenly seemed to come back to earth as she smiled. "I'll race you guys to dinner." She said as she ran off.

"Oh man, I hate running." Chumley said as he and Syrus ran after her. "Come on Lex, let's go." Mindy said as she and Jasmine also walked away. The only two people left on the court were Jaden and Alexis.

"Are you ok Jaden?" Alexis asked. Jaden sighed, and then put his hands in his pockets. "Yah, I'm fine." He said kicking the ground with his foot."

"Did you like Kuronu or something?" the obelisk asked. Jaden shrugged. "Well, she is very pretty, but I liked her just as friend." He answered. "And?" Alexis asked.

"What if Kuronu starts hanging out with Zane more and forgets about us?"

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "I dunno." Jaden continued. "I guess I'm just being selfish." Alexis smiled.

"You're not being selfish Jaden. You just want to continue your guy's friendship, but I highly doubt that Kuronu will spend more time with Zane in seeing how she can barely look at him." Jaden smiled.

"Yah thanks Lex." He said quietly. Alexis slightly blushed and looked away. "Well," She said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Jaden nodded.

"Yep." Jaden said.

When Jaden got to dinner, everyone was already half way done. "Jaden, where were you?" Kuronu asked as he walked over to their table. "We were worried about you." She continued as she pulled up an extra chair next to herself.

"Um, I just got talking with Alexis, that's all." He said sitting down. Kuronu blinked, and then smiled evilly.

"Ooooohhh. Alexis." She said smirking. Jaden looked at her suspiciously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked Kuronu shrugged. "Oh, nothing, nothing." Chazz glared at her. _"She better not be implying that Jaden likes Alexis."_

Syrus giggled. "What, did you ask her out?" Jaden blushed, and then stood up. "NOOOOO!" he shouted. Kuronu, Chumley, and Syrus giggled. Chazz glared at Jaden.

Jaden tried to argue that he and Alexis were just talking about duel monsters, but the others weren't convinced.

After dinner, Chazz returned to his room, and then Kuronu, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley returned to theirs. Kuronu lay down on her bed that was pushed against the other wall and looked out the window and smiled. Chumley and Syrus went to the bath house.

"So, what do you think we'll do tomorrow?" Kuronu asked. Jaden shrugged.

"Well, I really wanna see you duel." He said. Kuronu smirked. "Maybe, but I don't feel like dueling tomorrow."

"Then can we at least see your deck?" Jaden pleaded. Kuronu shook her head. "Ok, then I'll duel." He said. Kuronu smiled. "Cool." Kuronu said.

"What's Zane's deck like?" she asked. Jaden looked at her for a moment, and then shrugged. "It's powerful. He's got these three really powerful dragons that he can fuse together into one REALLY powerful monster."

Kuronu sat up. "You mean, like the blue eyes white dragons?" she asked. Jaden looked out the window. "You mean the three dragons that Kaiba has? He still has them, right?"

Kuronu blinked. "Uh, yah, I guess, how would I know?" Jaden smiled. "Right, well, yah, I guess Zane's dragons are like Kaiba's. You know, I heard somewhere that Kaiba was Zane's idol." Kuronu blinked again.

"Really?" She asked smirking. "Yah, crazy isn't it?" Jaden said.

"Um not really. Seto Kaiba is an amazing duelist. He should be king of games." Kuronu said. Jaden shrugged.

"So who's your idol Jaden?" Kuronu asked. Jaden smiled. "Yugi Moto of course!" Kuronu tried not to laugh. "What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"No offence Jaden, I mean, Yugi's cool and all, but really, he's not that great. I've met him a few times, and he's really short. He's only grown maybe 9 inches sense the Kaiba corp. grand prix." Jaden gasped. "You've met him!"

Kuronu nodded. "Yah, but you're completely missing the point! He's short! And Yami's a jerk! (No offence to Yami fans!)" Jaden blinked. "Who's Yami?" he asked.

Kuronu Blushed. "Uh…his EVIL twin brother." She said. Jaden gasped.

"He has a twin brother!" Jaden asked. Kuronu shook her head. "No, an Evil twin brother." Jaden didn't reply for a moment.

"Cool." He said. Kuronu's jaw dropped. "Not cool! He's evil!" She shouted.

"But if he's related to Yugi, he's cool." Jaden said smiling. Kuronu shook her head.

"Whatever. I guess I can't change your mind about Yugi, huh?" Jaden shook his head. Kuronu smiled. "Fine. He is nice though. I can't believe that his grandpa is STILL alive though."

Jaden laughed. Soon after, Syrus and Chumley returned. Kuronu got ready for bed ("I hate this closet!") and went to bed.

"Good night Chumley, good night Sy-"

"Jaden, just say good night." Kuronu told him.

"Right. Good night guys, cya tomorrow." Kuronu smiled.

"Good night Zane." Kuronu whispered to herself. "Sweet dreams."

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Authoresses note: Ok, I know the ending was lame, but I couldn't think of anything else. Um, wont update until I get at least 3 reviews. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner then I got this one up, sorry. Um, about the Yami thing, please, no one hate me for it. Yami can be cool! Ok, so 3 reviews, then I'll update.


	6. the fall

Authoresses note: Thank you every one who reviewed my last chapter, and sorry it has taken me so long to update.

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Chapter 6:

Kuronu yawned as the sun light crept through the window shades of her dorm room. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley were still asleep and snoring quite loudly. Kuronu tried to go back to sleep, knowing that the boys wouldn't wake up for about another twenty minuets, but she was too awake, so she finally decided to get up, not wanting to lie in her bed and do nothing for twenty minuets.

Kuronu quickly got dressed in the closet and ran outside. The cool morning air blew across her face. The sky was a perfect blue, not a single cloud in the sky. Kuronu began to run towards the pier. She wondered if Zane was outside.

When she got to the ledge of the cliff, a place where you could see the pier, the beach, and stuff like that, she saw Zane standing by the light house (I think it's a light house), but he wasn't alone. Alexis was standing next to him.

Kuronu stared at the two for a moment._ "Zane had said himself that he and Alexis were just friends."_ She told herself, but it didn't quite seem to get through to her. After a few moments of staring, she sighed, and began to walk back to her dorm.

"I should have known that Zane would never like someone like me." She grumbled. "I mean, I'm a first year slifer, he's a third year obelisk, huge difference."

"Now what are you grumbling about?" someone asked her. Kuronu looked up and saw Chazz standing on the deck of the slifer dorms.

"Go away Chazz." She said as she walked up the steps.

"That's what I was doing." He said, walking down the steps and past Kuronu. Kuronu walked back to her room, continuing her grumbling.

"What's her problem?" he asked no one in particular. Then his duel spirit came out, Ojama yellow.

"I don't know, put we should try to help her." He said. Chazz glared at the yellow thing floating beside him.

"Would you shut up? Why would I want to help her?" Chazz shouted.

"Because she's pretty." The spirit answered. Chazz clenched his hands into fists.

"So? She's just a pathetic little slifer girl with no life at all! Know why? Because she's a girl and in slifer, which has never been done before, meaning that she's probably a worst duelist than Jaden." Chazz yelled.

"But Jaden's a better duelist than you, so does that mean that she's a better duelist than you too?" the spirit asked.

Chazz growled. "Just….just go away." Chazz said through gritted teeth.

"Why?" the spirit asked as Chazz began to walk to the main building.

"Because." Chazz answered.

"Because why?" the spirit asked again.

"Because, because."

"Because, because why?"

"Because, because, because!"

"Because, because, because why?"

"Because, because, because-! Oh never mind!" chazz shouted.

"Why?"

Chazz would've ripped his head off long ago if it weren't for the fact that the spirit was, well, a spirit. Chazz looked at the ocean, trying to ignore the yellow spirit that was hovering over his shoulder, when he saw Zane and Alexis talking on the pier. Chazz stopped walking and stared at them.

"To bad," Ojama yellow said. "Looks like Alexis already has someone."

Chazz didn't answer. "Kuronu had come back from this way." He said quietly. Alexis had told him some time last night that Kuronu had a crush on Zane. "Maybe this is what she was so upset about." Chazz scratched his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged and continued walking.

Kuronu opened the door to her room and saw Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley sitting on the floor. Jaden got up and walked over to her.

"There you are. We were wondering where you went." Kuronu walked past him and sat on her bed.

"I was just taking a walk." She said. The three boys looked at each other, then at Kuronu.

"Are you ok Kuronu?" Syrus asked.

"Yah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." She informed them. The three boys continued to look at her. Kuronu sighed. "You guys got tired of sleeping in until five minuets before class?" she asked them.

Jaden blushed. "Not really. I just couldn't sleep, that's all."

Kuronu smiled. "So, whatcha guy's doin?" she asked, picking up one of the cards on the floor.

"We're helping Chumley re-do his deck." Syrus said taking the card from Kuronu and placing it on the floor. Kuronu bent down and examined all the cards. She had seen Chumley duel a few days ago, but had never seen all his cards. They were mostly koala cards. Kuronu smirked.

"You really do like koalas." She said sitting up. Chumley blushed.

"Yah, I don't know why, but I just like em for some reason." He said looking fondly at his cards.

"Probably because their so cute." She told him. Jaden sat down next to Kuronu on the bed.

"What do you say Kuronu, we still got a few more minuets before breakfast, wanna go over your deck?" Kuronu glared at Jaden for a moment, and then smirked.

"No. I'm not letting anyone see my deck until I'm ready to show everyone." She told him, picking up her deck that was on the window sill.

"Oh come on, why can't we see it?" Jaden asked.

Kuronu smirked. "I just don't think duel academy is ready to see such a powerful deck."

The three boys stared at Kuronu with big eyes. "Come on, your deck can't be that strong." Chumley said. Kuronu just continued to smirk.

"Is it more powerful than Zane's?" Syrus asked. Kuronu shrugged.

"I don't know. I've never seen Zane's deck. We'll just have to wait and see." Kuronu put her deck in the case that was strapped to the back of her belt. Jaden couldn't take it anymore.

"Kuronu." Jaden whined. "You're killing me. Please, just tell me what your most powerful card is?" Kuronu shook her head no. "Your weakest card then?"

Kuronu thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head no again. "Why?" Jaden asked her.

"Because," she began. "That'll just give away my second strongest card, and that could give away my very strongest." She explained. Jaden crossed his arms.

"Fine." He said. Kuronu smiled as she stood up.

"Since we've made an agreement about my deck, let's go eat breakfast." She said walking to the door. Syrus and Chumley also stood and followed Kuronu and Jaden out side.

Kuronu sighed. _"There's just something about those guys that make me feel better." _Kuronu said to herself. She had just started to forget about Zane and Alexis when Chazz came in, and it suddenly hit her on the head that Zane probably had no feelings for her what so ever.

Chazz walked over and reluctantly sat down at their table. Kuronu glared at him.

"What are you glaring at me for?" Chazz asked her. Kuronu looked down at her plate. Chazz rolled his eyes. "What's her problem today?" Chazz asked Jaden. Jaden shrugged.

"I am right here you know." Kuronu said as she continued to glare at Chazz.

"So?" Chazz asked, now glaring back at Kuronu.

"You know," Kuronu said, "I never realized just how annoying you were until now."

Chazz snorted. "You think I'm annoying? Try looking your attitude."

"What have I done to annoy you?" she asked.

"You came to the academy." Chazz answered.

Kuronu began to stand up, but Jaden pulled her back down. "Easy Kuronu." He said. "Let's not start something."

"Too late, it's already started." Chazz said, also standing up, only to be pulled back down by both Syrus and Chumley. Kuronu and Chazz glared at each other for a few more minuets then continued eating with out another word. The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence. After breakfast, they all went down to the main building.

They were halfway there when Kuronu asked, "Chazz, where you going this morning?" Chazz glared at her for a moment, then replied.

"Chancellor Shepard called me last night and told me to go to his office this morning." He said.

"What did he want?" Syrus asked.

"He wanted me to wear a real slifer uniform." Chazz answered.

"And?" the others all asked at the same time.

"Forget it. I'm only in slifer because I left. I should still be in obelisk." Chazz said.

"Actually," Jaden started. "You should be in Ra, remember? You were demoted."

Chazz grunted, but didn't reply. "Demoted huh?" Kuronu said smirking. "Looks like you're not as good as you say."

"Shut it Ishahara!" Chazz shouted. "So I lost my touch a bit, I got it back though. I'm just as good as I used to be and better." Kuronu didn't reply. "So why were you outside this morning?" Chazz asked her.

"I was taking a walk." Kuronu said which was half true.

Chazz smirked. "Hopping to see Zane?" he asked smirking. Kuronu stopped walking and blushed.

"No!" she yelled. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Come on." Chazz said continuing to walk. Kuronu ran after him. "The whole school knows you have a crush on Zane." Kuronu blushed.

"Come on Chazz, that's not true." Jaden said. "As far as I know, only we and Alexis know."

Kuronu looked at Jaden, very surprised. "What are you talking about? I do not have a crush on him." She denied.

"Then why are you blushing?" Chazz asked. Kuronu growled.

"Well, what would you do if some one said you had a crush on Alexis, which I know you do." Kuronu retaliated.

"So what if I do?" Chazz asked. "At least I don't deny it." Kuronu gritted her teeth.

"It's ok if you're embarrassed." Jaden said putting a hand on Kuronu's shoulder.

"I do not have a crush on Zane!" she yelled. She knocked Jaden's hand off her shoulder and ran to the main building. As she was walking, Zane and Alexis came over.

"Hey K-" Zane began, but Kuronu walked right passed.

"What's wrong with her?" Alexis.

Chazz shrugged. "I don't know, I just said-" Jaden quickly nudged his shoulder. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Come on Alexis." Jaden said grabbing Chazzes arm and pulling him inside the building. Jaden dragged Chazz to a small corner and lightly shoved him against the wall.

"What's going on Jaden?" Alexis asked once she, Syrus, and Chumley had caught up with him.

"Chazz had mentioned to Kuronu that we knew about, well, her thing with Zane." Jaden explained, glaring at Chazz.

"Chazz!" Alexis yelled. "Why would you do such a thing, you knew that she would get upset!"

"Because," Chazz said, crossing his arms. "She was annoying me."

"Yah, you should have seen them at breakfast." Syrus said. Alexis rolled her eyes, and then glared at Chazz again.

"Chazz, you're going to go into that class room right now and apologize to Kuronu!" Alexis demanded. Chazz was shocked.

"Apologize! For what?" he asked.

"For being such a jerk." Alexis told him. "And if you don't." Alexis said, cracking her knuckles. Chazz gulped. He looked at the three other slifers that were glaring at him.

"Fine." He said, walking past them. Kuronu was seated in the middle row and was glaring at the chair in front of her. When another slifer was about to sit in the chair that she had been glaring at she yelled "Don't you dare sit down!"

"Why?" asked the slifer, raising an eyebrow.

"Because if you sit there, than I wont be able to glare at the back of the chair as well, I'll be forced to glare at your ugly back!" The slifer stared at her for a moment.

As he walked away he muttered "My back isn't ugly." Chazz rolled his eyes. He reluctantly walked down to where Kuronu was sitting.

"What do you want?" she asked, glaring at Chazz. Chazz sighed.

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk a few minuets ago." Kuronu just continued to glare at the chair. Chazz was about to leave when he saw Alexis standing in the doorway, arms crossed. Chazz slowly turned around and said, "I had no business to say that you had a crush on Zane… even though you do." Kuronu glared at Chazz, and he could also feel Alexis glare at him and could hear a slight cracking sound.

"I mean," he said franticly. The last thing he wanted was to be beat up by a girl, how degrading was that, but he also just didn't want to be beat up. "It was wrong of me to accuse you of having a crush on Zane when you don't, you hear me, DON'T."

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "What ever. Just stop saying it so loudly." Chazz nodded and walked down to the front row, not wanting to go near Alexis. Alexis quietly walked down to Kuronu and sat down next to her.

"Are you ok?" she asked. Kuronu shrugged.

"I guess." She said softly. Alexis gently put her hand on Kuronu's shoulder.

"Don't let Chazz get to you." She said, "He's just a big jerk sometimes, that's all."

"Is it that obvious that I like Zane?" Kuronu asked blushing slightly.

"Well," Alexis said, scratching her cheek. "To tell you the truth, it was to me, but Jaden and the other guys were totally oblivious to it. I guess I shouldn't have said anything to them, huh?" Kuronu nodded. "Sorry." Alexis said softly.

"It's ok." Kuronu said sitting up. "But, Zane doesn't know, does he?" Alexis took this into consideration for a moment.

"I'm not sure. The others haven't said anything to him, and I haven't, so if he does, he figured it out for himself, but I doubt he knows."

"Good." Kuronu said. Alexis looked at Kuronu for a moment.

"You're going to have to tell him some time you know." Kuronu nodded.

"I know, but not right now. I was going to wait till after he graduates from duel academy and send him a letter so that he can't confront me about it until I graduate from duel academy." Kuronu said slightly smiling.

"Um, that's great, but don't you think that by the time you graduate he'll already have a girlfriend?" Alexis asked. Kuronu banged her head on the desk.

"Oh yah, I kinda forgot about that." She said rubbing her bruised fore head. Alexis smiled. "Um, Alexis, you and Zane, you don't like, like him or anything, do you?" Alexis blinked, and then snickered.

"Of course not." Alexis informed her. "Actually, he's been more of a big brother to me ever since my brother disappeared." Kuronu sat straight up and looked at Alexis.

"Your brother disappeared?" She asked. Alexis slowly nodded.

"Yes. He was one of the students who disappeared in the abandoned dorm. See, he and Zane had met a year before Zane came to duel academy, so naturally I knew Zane a little bit, actually, my brother disappeared Zane's first year here." Alexis said sadly.

"So, you knew Zane before you came here?" Alexis nodded. "Did you know Syrus?"

"Not really. I didn't really get to know Zane that well until I came here, I had heard about Syrus a little bit, but didn't meat him until we got here." Kuronu nodded, showing that she understood. She then suddenly realized something.

"Your brother's name was Atticus, right?" Kuronu asked.

"Yah, how did you know?" Alexis asked, totally shocked.

"Um, I had heard about it somewhere." Kuronu told her. Alexis watched as Crowler walked over to his desk.

"Well, I had better get going, it was fun talking to you." Alexis said smiling.

"Same goes to you." As soon as Alexis had walked away, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley ran over.

"Are you ok Kuronu, sorry if I embarrassed you." Jaden said. Kuronu shook her head and smiled.

"Its ok Jaden, I'm fine." Jaden and the others quickly sat down as Crowler began to talk. Halfway through class, Kuronu asked. "Jaden, where's the abandoned dorm?" Jaden looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Why?" he asked. "We're not aloud to go there." He whispered.

"Yah." Syrus said, having heard the conversation. "If they catch you, you'll be expelled."

"Well, you've obviously gone there, and you weren't expelled." Kuronu said. Jaden looked at the others.

"Yah, but after what happened last time," Jaden said shivering. "I'm not that eager to go back, besides, we almost got expelled."

"Jaden Yuki." Crowler called out. Jaden quickly stood. "Is there something you'd like to say to the class?"

"Not really teach." Jaden said. Crowler glared at him as he sat back down. After Crowler's class was professor Banners, which was farley interesting, but not interesting enough to keep Jaden awake. When the class was ending Kuronu nudged Jaden in the ribs.

"Hey, Jaden, wake up." Jaden groaned, but didn't wake up. Kuronu rolled her eyes. She then slammed her foot down on his.

"OW!" Jaden yelled as he stood up. Everyone looked at him. "Eh-heh, sorry." Jaden sat back down and glared at Kuronu. "What was that for?" he asked rubbing his soar foot.

"You wouldn't wake up." She said. Jaden groaned. Professor Banner then stood up, indicating that the class was over, but before everyone left, he made a quick announcement.

"Class, tomorrow morning we're going on a hike to the ruins that are on this island. So make sure you wake up early and eat a good breakfast and pack a good lunch, because it's a long hike." Syrus gasped. Last night he had heard Banner talking to someone about ancient ruins.

"Well, this should be interesting." Alexis said as she, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and Kuronu walked to the cafeteria to eat lunch. (A/N: I don't care if there isn't a cafeteria in the actual show. This is a fan fiction, anything can happen in a fan fiction, besides, I need a place for them to eat together.)

"I wonder how long the hike is." Jaden asked.

"Ten miles." Kuronu muttered.

"What? Are you serious?" Jaden asked. Kuronu nodded. "How do you know?" he asked.

"Uh, before I came, my mom had me do this virtual tour thing of the whole island." She explained. Once they got to the cafeteria, they met up with Chazz and Bastion, and then looked around for a place to sit. Kuronu spotted Zane, sitting all by his little lonesome. (A/N: Yahhhhhh……..) Kuronu walked over and sat down across from. Zane looked up from the book he was reading.

"Um, hi." He said as Kuronu put ketchup on her cheese burger.

"Hi." She said smiling at him. For some reason, she felt more confident around him today, maybe it had something to do with knowing that the others knew she liked him.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "You seemed upset this morning." Kuronu slightly blushed.

"Upset? Oh, that. Yah, I'm fine, Chazz was just getting on my nerves." Zane nodded. Just then, Alexis sat down next to him, followed by Jaden sitting down next to Kuronu, Syrus next to Jaden, Chumley next to Syrus, Bastion next to Chumley, and Chazz next to Bastion. Zane stared at them as they all sat down.

"Hi Zane." Syrus said as he began to eat his lunch. Zane just nodded.

"Alexis?" he asked. "Why is everyone-?"

"Sitting with you? Well, Kuronu came over, so we decided to sit with her, besides, this is the emptiest table here." Zane nodded. Just then, a bunch of other slifers sat down at the end.

"We're sitting at Zane's table now?" one of them said. "I feel like an extremely good duelist." Zane stared at them.

"Whoa, hang on." Zane began, but then Mindy and Jasmine came over.

"Hey Lex, move over." Mindy said. Alexis nodded.

"Move over Zane." She told him. Zane didn't move. Alexis groaned, and then shoved Zane two spaces down the bench.

"Hey." He said pulling his food back over to him as Mindy and Jasmine sat down.

"Why does everyone have the sudden erg to sit with me today?" Zane asked. "And who are they?" He asked theJaden, indicating to the other slifers at the end of the table. Jaden looked at them, and then back at Zane.

"I have no idea." Jaden said. Zane rolled his eyes.

"You don't like us sitting with you?" Kuronu asked. Zane sighed.

"It's not that I don't want you sitting with me, it's more the fact that I'm not used to all these people sitting with me, especially people I don't know." He said glaring at the unknown slifers.

"Wow." Jaden said. "You're pretty lonely, aren't you?" Zane didn't reply. He just stared at Jaden like he was a moron.

After lunch, they all went to the arena and dueled. Jaden and Chazz dueled again, and once again, Jaden beat Chazz. Kuronu wanted Zane to duel, but he had a few more classes and some homework, though he did stay to watch Jaden and Alexis duel, which they tied. By the time Zane had to leave, they (the freshmen) didn't feel like dueling anymore, which was really weird for Jaden.

"See, you could've had time to duel." Kuronu said to Zane as they walked out of the main building.

"Maybe, but I forgot my deck in my room anyways." He said. Suddenly, a slifer nearly ran over Alexis. He looked startled when he saw Zane, but continued running.

"Wonder what his problem was." Jaden said. Zane's two friends ran over, trying to catch their breath.

"We're sorry Zane." The one said. "We tried to stop him."

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked.

"That guy….he stole your deck." As soon as he had said it, Kuronu ran after him. Everyone stared as she ran after him.

"Well, she seams quite eager to help get your deck back." Bastion said.

"Come on." Jaden shouted as he ran after Kuronu.

"Get back here!" Kuronu yelled at the slifer, but he only ran faster. Kuronu Growled. How dare he take Zane's deck! She thought to herself. Kuronu jumped into the air and landed on his back. The slifer went crashing to the ground, dropping all of Zane's cards. Kuronu was about to reach down and pick them up, when she stumbled and tripped off the edge of the cliff.

Kuronu tried to stop herself from falling by standing, but her foot slammed into a rock, causing her to fall forward. As she did so, she heard a cracking sound, and pain ran up through her leg. She fell onto her stomach and rolled down the hill, hitting her head on several rocks. When she reached the beach, her head slammed down hard on a rock. Kuronu lay on her back, breathing hard. Her whole body ached; her head and foot were both throbbing with pain. She could here worried shouts calling her name as everyone ran over to her.

She could see Jaden, Zane, Chazz, and Bastion sliding down the hill towards her. The last thing she saw before she lost conscious was Jaden, kneeling down beside her.

Kuronu groaned as she cracked her eyes open. Jaden was sitting next to her bed, and she saw Zane leaning on a wall behind him. Jaden looked startled as she opened her eyes.

"Kuronu, are you ok?" Jaden asked in a worried tone. She heard other people walking over to her.

"What- Ow!" she yelled as she hit her right foot with her left. Kuronu say up and lightly touched her foot.

"You took quite a nasty fall." Bastion said as he walked over to the other side of her bed. Kuronu looked around the room. She was in the infirmary. Alexis, Syrus, Chumley, and Chazz were standing at the foot of her bed.

"You broke you ankle." Jaden said as she lay back down. "And you got a slight concussion."

"Great." Kuronu said sighing. "I guess this means I can't go on the hike tomorrow." Jaden shook his head no. Kuronu then looked out the window and saw how dark it was. The cold late October winds blowing against the windows (A/n: I'm kinda changing the time of everything. I felt that they went to fast in the show)

"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked.

"All afternoon." Alexis told her. Kuronu rested her head on her left knee. Her head hurt almost as much as her foot did.

"Did you get your cards back Zane?" Kuronu asked, looking at Zane. Zane nodded.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through so much pain to get them back. I owe you." He said quietly. Kuronu shrugged.

"You probably would've been able to get them back yourself." Kuronu said. She was tired and hungry. "How long do I have to stay in bed?" she asked.

"Well, miss Fontaine wants you to stay in bed for a few days, to give your head some time to heal a little bit, then you can have crutches so that you can walk around and get to classes, but she wants you to sleep here in the infirmary for a little bit." Alexis told her.

"Great." Kuronu said punching her pillow before lying back down.

"Well." Jaden said standing up. "We should get going. We'll see you tomorrow." Everyone said goodnight and wished her a good, painless night of sleep and left. Soon after, Fonda Fontain came in to see how she was doing, helped her change into her pajamas, and turned off the light so that Kuronu could sleep. It took her a while to fall asleep, due to her hurting ankle, but she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

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Authoresses note: Wow that was the longest thing I have ever written, no, seriously. Wow. Sorry if I bored you all to death. Kinda a pointless chapter, I know, but I've finally getting to where things start happening, so it should hopefully get more exciting. Again, I'll try to update soon, I'll actually probably be able to update more now that school has started again. See, I'm home schooled, but me and my sis have a science class on Tuesdays, unfortunately not together, but when my mom takes my sis to science, and right before I go is the perfect time for me to update, so hopefully the next chapter will be up next week, unless it's a long one like this and it takes me two days to type. (I started this chapter on Tuesday, but couldn't finish, and I didn't get a chance on the computer yesterday, so sorry) ok, well, that's it. I Won't update till I get 3 reviews.


	7. a secret revealed

Authoresses note: ok, wow, thank you everyone who reviewed me, you guys rock! In fact, you rock so much that I have decided to update today! Yah, this must be weird to have another update so soon, but I've been thinking of my story a lot more, ok, anyways, thankies everyone.

Oh yah, this chapter contains a few spoilers of the last new ep they showed on cartoon network, so make sure that you've seen it.

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Chapter 7: a secret revealed.

"Kuronu." Kuronu's eyes snapped open, and she stared up into Jaden Yuki's face. She stared at him for a moment, and then slowly sat up, trying not to move her ankle.

"Jaden, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I just thought that I'd say goodbye before I left on our hike." He explained.

"Oh yah, ok, have fun." She said, lying back down.

"Sure, but if it's really a ten mile hike, that might be kinda hard." Jaden said half laughing. Kuronu smiled.

"Right." She said.

"Oh yah, here." Jaden handed Kuronu her duel deck. "I didn't look at it, I swear. I just thought you might want it to keep you company." Kuronu took the deck and smiled at Jaden.

"Thanks." She said softly. "Uh, Jaden, as soon as I can duel again, I'm so gonna kick your butt." Jaden stared at her for moment, and then smiled.

"We'll just see about that!" he said, doing his signature pose. Kuronu giggled. "Well, I'll catch you later." And with that, he left.

Kuronu sighed as she put her deck on the table next to her bed. The morning sunlight streamed into the room, blinding her when she looked directly at the windows. She was worried about Jaden and the others. She had heard strange rumors about those ruins. Kuronu sighed and stared at the ceiling. She was bored. Very bored. She wanted to walk around, try to get used to having crutches. She then remembered last night…..and how she didn't have dinner. She wanted to eat more than anything else.

"I wonder what's for breakfast this morning." She said putting her hands behind her head, only to quickly remove them due to the pain on the back of her skull. "I wander if I'll get breakfast." She said as her stomach growled very loudly.

"Hungry?" Fonda Fontaine asked as she entered the room. Kuronu sat straight up.

"YES!" she said. Her stomach growled again. Miss Fontaine laughed.

"What would like for breakfast?" she asked.

"Um." Kuronu said as she thought about all the possibilities. "How about…Three pancakes, two waffles, and egg, and toast." She said smiling. Miss Fontaine stared at her.

"Are you sure you can eat all that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Kuronu said excitedly. Miss Fontaine shrugged.

"Ok, I'll be back in a minuet." She said as she exited the infirmary.

Kuronu leaned back and stared at the ceiling again. She was too hungry to think of anything else. She then looked at her deck on the table, picked it up, and began to look through it. She really wanted to duel Jaden now. After a few minuets, Miss Fontaine returned with a stack of trays. Kuronu quickly ate every last bite of food and every drop of orange juice that she had been given.

"Need anything else?" Miss Fontaine asked. Kuronu shook her head no. Kuronu spent the whole after noon looking through her deck and talking to the voices in her head(A/N: Yes, like my sister, Kuronu has voices in her head, only hers don't tell her to go out and randomly destroy like my sisters do)

Finally, lunch time came… (A/N: O.O this is boring, isn't it?) And once again, Kuronu was hungry. "I'm so hungry!" she cried, and as she did so she banged her left foot onto her right. Kuronu cried with agony as the pain in her foot became known again. Kuronu whimpered as the pain slowly disappeared again, though it still hurt a little. Kuronu then suddenly realized Zane's presence in the room.

"Are you ok?" he asked worriedly. Kuronu nodded.

"Yah, I'm fine." She said slowly. Zane smiled and walked over to her bed and handed her a sandwich,

"I figured you'd want lunch." He said. Kuronu eagerly grabbed the sandwich.

"Oh boy, do I!" she said happily. Zane smiled.

"I made sure it was something good." He told her. Kuronu looked suspiciously at it.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Tuna." Zane told her as he sat down on the edge of her bed. Kuronu stared at Zane for a moment. Her eyes became huge, and her lip's began to twitch.

"T-tuna?" she asked.

"That is ok, isn't it?" Zane asked, wondering if she had some horrific event concerning tuna before.

"Is it ok?" she repeated Zane. "Is it….ok? I LOVE TUNA!" she shouted. Zane was so startled that he nearly fell off the bed. Kuronu took a huge bite out the sandwich and smiled as she ate it.

"Mmmmm, so dewishious." She said with her mouth full of bread and tuna fish.

"I'm glad you like it." Zane said, quite startled that someone could like tuna so much.

"I wuve it." She said, taking another large bite. Zane smiled. Kuronu just kept getting weirder and weirder. When Kuronu had finished, she smiled at Zane. "Thank you so much! I love tuna!"

"I've noticed." He said calmly. Kuronu blushed. "Most people I know hate tuna. They say it smells bad." Kuronu glared at Zane.

"Well, they're wrong. Tuna is one of the most delicious foods in the world, with its delicious fishy smell." Kuronu said, followed by a long sigh. "I love the smell of fresh fish." She said. Zane smiled.

"Well, I should get going." He said standing up.

"Why?" Kuronu asked, grabbing his arm. "There's no school today, and I'm so bored." Zane yanked his arm from Kuronu's grip and smiled at her.

"Sorry, but I have too." He said quietly. "I'll come back and visit you later. I promise."

Kuronu blushed. An awkward science filled the room, and then Zane left without another word. Kuronu sighed. She was bored out her mind. She knew that she should have brought her game boy to the academy and maybe her mp3 player too. Hours seemed to pass. Miss Fontaine came in a few times to see how she was doing.

Finally, she heard voices. Zane's voice, but he was talking with someone. A young woman it sounded like. She was laughing. Kuronu gasped. She recognized the laugh. It was cold sounding. Zane entered the room, soon followed by a young woman, at least 20 years old with long black hair and red highlights. She was wearing a red spaghetti strap shirt, which was odd since it was getting cold, and black pants.

Kuronu crossed her arms across her chest. "What you doing here?" she asked bitterly. The woman scowled.

"Here." She said in a monotone voice as she tossed a small silver brief case onto Kuronu's lap. "Dad told me to give it to you." Kuronu looked at it, and then put it next to her bed. The young woman then looked at Kuronu's red uniform that had been laid on the back of a chair. "Pht should have known you'd be put in slifer." Kuronu glared at her. "You're just a disgrace to our family." She continued. Kuronu gritted her teeth. Zane looked sympathetically towards Kuronu. "You're just so pathetic that I can't even stand to look at you." The young women then looked at Zane with a smirk. "I really don't know why some one as…interesting as Zane would want to waist his time with you."

"Go away Mallory." Kuronu said, trying to hold back the tears that were welling up. The woman, Mallory, narrowed her eyes.

"Fine." She said grabbing Zane's arm. "It's been a while since I've been to duel academy, why not show me around?" Before Zane could answer, Mallory pulled him out of the infirmary, and past a startled Fonda Fontaine.

"Miss Fontaine slowly walked towards Kuronu. "She's your…sister?" she asked shaking slightly. Kuronu slowly nodded. "But she's-" Miss Fontaine said, looking at the door. "Than you're-"

"A disgrace." She said quietly, hot tears streaming down her face. Miss Fontaine put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but soon left. It seemed like hours past before Zane re entered the room, this time alone. He had an unreadable expression on his face. Kuronu guessed that Mallory had kissed him or something.

"Are you ok?" he asked, leaning on the foot post of the bed. Kuronu nodded.

"Yah, I'll get over it." She said quietly. Zane stared at Kuronu for a while before he spoke again.

"I guess you two don't get along very well, huh?" he said slightly smiling. Kuronu snorted.

"That's the understatement of the century. Mallory has always hated me, even though she's the oldest and got more time with my parents." Kuronu said sadly.

Zane raised an eyebrow. "Your parents aren't dead, are they?" he asked. Kuronu shook her head no.

"No, though it sometimes seems like they are. I just never get to see them that much." Kuronu answered sadly. "Mallory's hair isn't really naturally black you know." Zane began to walk over to the side of her bed.

"Really? It's actually quite convincing. Did her hair used to be brown?" he asked.

"Well yah." Kuronu said. "My whole family had brown hair. Well, except for my uncle, he had black hair." Zane smiled.

"Your uncle Mokuba?" he asked quietly. Kuronu's eyes widened.

"What? No." she said trying to sound convincing. "My uncles name was, um, Bob, and he-" Zane raised an eyebrow. "She told you, huh?" Kuronu asked, looking down at her sheets. Zane slowly nodded.

"But I knew you were a Kaiba the first moment I saw you though." Zane told her. Kuronu looked at Zane.

"Oh and how's that?" she asked.

"Your hair." Zane said, running his fingers through Kuronu's long brown hair. Kuronu blushed. "You have you fathers same hair style, only yours is long. You also have his eyes, and your mother's attitude." Kuronu smiled. She liked to be compared to her mother. Her mother was kind, and loving, but she was also determined, and an extremely good duelist.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"I also know that you are not a disgrace to your family. Your parents would be proud of you." Zane said. "But why did you lye about your name? I have a feeling it has something to do with not wanting special treatment from everyone and not wanting to go to obelisk just because your father owns the school, am I correct?"

Kuronu nodded. "Yah, that's basically it." She said, sighing. Zane smiled.

"What did you mean when you said you hardly get to see your parents?" Zane asked. He knew what she meant, that she hardly got to see her parents, but he wanted to know the full story.

"Well, my dad is always busy with work, especially after Pegasus gave him Industrial illusions. He goes to work really early, comes home really late. Haven't eaten dinner with him since my birthday in the spring." Zane raised both his eyebrows. "And my mom, she basically runs industrial illusions, so she's in America a lot, and Mallory, even if she wanted to see me, she's busy going all over the world with the pro leagues. So basically, I'm alone most of the time. I know my parents want to spend more time with me, but their just really busy." Kuronu sighed. She had never in her whole life told anyone that.

"That must be really hard." Zane said. Kuronu nodded.

"And everyone at my old school thought I was some kind of snob, and the fact that my dad has body guards follow me everywhere doesn't help, so the closest people I've had to friends were Yugi Moto and his friends, which is kinda weird because they're all old with their own kids, which don't really like me either."

Zane slightly smiled. "So that's why I changed my last name. I was hoping to get put in slifer, because I knew that I would be able to make real friends, and I did. Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and even Chazz I guess have all been really awesome. Even you, Alexis, and Bastion have been good friends, so thank you." Kuronu said, smiling at Zane. Zane nodded.

"But knowing Jaden, he would've become your friend even if he did know you were a Kaiba." Zane told her. Kuronu smiled.

Kuronu and Zane had talked for several more hours before he left, then it was only a matter of time before Jaden and the others got back.

"I wonder when Jaden's coming back." She asked herself, suddenly, Jaden ran through the door. "Speak of the devil, here he is now." Kuronu said as she sat up. "How was your hike?" she asked. Jaden didn't reply, he was trying to let his breath catch up with him. Kuronu then noticed the half of a necklace hanging from his neck. "Hey, where'd you get the pretty necklace? Jaden? Jaden, what's wrong?

"I-dueled." He said quietly.

"Huh? You dueled Alexis?" Kuronu asked. Jaden shook his head.

"No, a shadow duel." He answered. Kuronu gasped.

"What? How?" Kuronu asked franticly. "Where are the others? Jaden?"

"Their coming." Jaden answered, sitting down on the side of her bed.

"Jaden, what happened?" Kuronu asked. Jaden explained what happened. How they got transported to another world, and how he had to beat this guy in a shadow duel in order to get the others back so they could leave, and how he beat him.

"And then Yasmine told me to tell the owner of the other half of this necklace that she's still in whatever place it was(A/N: I can't remember what the place is)" Jaden explained. Kuronu looked at the necklace, then at Jaden.

"Jaden, you realize that this probably isn't the last time you'll be in a shadow duel? I can tell that things are going to get very dangerous around here." Kuronu said quietly.

"Don't worry." Jaden said putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'll be careful. Now you get some rest. The others probably went back to their dorms, and I think I'll join them." Jaden stood up and yawned. "Man, that shadow duel really drained my energy."

"Jaden!" Kuronu shouted. Jaden looked at her, startled. "These shadows games are not to be taken lightly, I've seen what they can do, you can be killed in a shadow duel." Jaden stared at Kuronu for a moment and took in what she had said.

"I'll be careful, I promise." With that, Jaden left Kuronu alone.

"Things are going to get very dangerous."

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Authoresses note: Ok, I'm sorry to inform you all of this, but this is going to be the last chapter until cartoon network starts showing new episodes of yugioh gx, so sorry. Until then though, I'll most likely go back and fix all the typos in the other chapters, and possibly start a harry potter story, my Yugioh story (just yugioh) or just take a break from writing for a while and give my brain a rest. So I really am sorry people, as soon as CN shows new eps again, I'll update. Byes.


	8. enter the shadow riders

Authoresses note: Yay! Yugioh gx is back, so, so am I! Ok, during that long, yet relaxing break, I went back and fixed all, or at least tried to fix all, the mistakes that I made in the previous chapters, if I missed some stuff, sorry, I'll go back the next time cn stops showing new eps. Ok, these next few chapters will be a bit difficult for me to write cuz it's with the shadow riders, and I'm not very good at writing duels, that's why I haven't done one yet. Ok, time for the next chapie, remember, constructive critism is welcome, just please be nice! If you like the story, but you found a lot of mistakes and you want to tell me you found a lot of mistakes, tell me, just be nice, if you didn't like my story, found lots of mistakes, don't review cause I'll consider that a flame, and I HATE flames, so no flaming! Remember, I'm writing this in my own little time thing, so it may be different from the show.

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Chapter 8: Enter the shadow riders.

About a week had passed since Jaden and the others had gone on their hike which lead them to some strange other world and the only way for them to get out and keep their souls was for Jaden to win a shadow duel against the grave keeper, which he fortunately won. Kuronu sighed as she sat up in her hospital bed, why she had to stay there, she had no idea. The morning sun light shown through the blinds of the infirmary. Kuronu looked next to her bed and saw a pair of crutches leaning against the bed post. She smiled.

"Finally," She said as she stood up on one foot and took the crutches. "I can walk around again." She moved to crutches in front of her and tried to push herself forward with them, but fell on her bed. "Or at least try to walk around." She said, glaring at the, what Kuronu called them, "Stupid over sized sticks!" Kuronu stood up again and began to walk, er, limp to the center of the room. She placed the crutches in front of her and pushed herself up so that she went forward a step. Kuronu smiled, she was starting to get the hang of these. She was soon halfway across the room when she tripped over the foot thing of one of the beds, falling over the bad and landing on her back on the floor between the two beds. Kuronu tried to get up, but that was very difficult with her broken ankle.

Kuronu gritted her teeth and glared at the ceiling. Please, someone, anyone, come in here! She thought to herself. Just then, she heard foot steps. "I'm saved!" She said to herself again. She looked at the ceiling and saw Zane look down at her with an expression that said, "What the heck are you doing down there?"

"Hi." Kuronu said weakly.

"Kuronu, what the heck are you doing down there?" Zane asked.

"I was trying out my crutches, but I don't think they like me, so now I defiantly don't like them!"

Zane chuckled. "Here, let me help you." Zane knelt down and carefully put his one arm under her back and his other arm under legs and lifted her up into his arms. Kuronu blushed as he carried her over to her bed and sat her down on it. He then got her crutches and placed them next to Kuronu. Zane smiled as he watched Kuronu play with her fingers, too embarrassed to look up at the obelisk. "Need some help with your crutches?" Zane asked her.

Kuronu smiled at him. "Help would be nice." She said standing up with the help of her crutches. Zane helped her to the middle of the room.

"Ok," he said, moving her hands down to the place where she was to hold them. With Zane's help, Kuronu managed to get all the way to the other side of the room. When the reached the window, Kuronu leaned against the window sill and stared out the window.

"Thank you." She said quietly. "If you hadn't come, who knows how long I would've been stuck on the floor."

Zane chuckled. "No problem."

"What were you doing here anyways? Just came to see me?" Kuronu asked.

"Yah, that's basically it." Zane said. Kuronu nodded, and then sighed.

"I need to tell the others." She said quietly. Zane gave her a confused look.

"Tell the other what?" he asked.

"About whom I really am. I feel bad about not telling them, especially Jaden, but I don't know how. What do I just go up and say, 'Guys, I lied to you; my real last name is Kaiba, Seto Kaiba is my father, so yah.'" Zane had to force himself to laugh.

"Well," he said, but couldn't continue due to the fact Crowler had just entered the room.

"Ah, there you are Zane." He said walking over to him. He then looked at Kuronu and tried to smile, but his distain for the girl was way too obvious. "Miss Ishahara, I trust you are doing better after your little fall?" Kuronu nodded. "Good, good. Now Zane, Chancellor Shepard has requested you in his office." Zane looked at Kuronu.

"I'll see you later." He said as he followed Crowler out of the infirmary. Kuronu sighed as she limped back to her bed, which took about five minuets. After what seemed like hours, Jaden ran in.

"Kuronu!" Jaden shouted as he ran towards her.

"Hey Jay." Kuronu said. "What's up?"

"Kuronu, the most insane thing happened!"

"Really?" Kuronu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Guess what happened!" Jaden shouted.

"Hm, lets see, you actually got C instead of a D- on a test?" Kuronu asked.

Jaden glared at her for a moment, and then shook his head. "Ok, me, Alexis, Chazz, Banner, and Bastion, were asked to go to Chancellor Shepard's office-"

"Hey! Zane was asked to go there too!" Kuronu informed him. Jaden blinked.

"How did you know that?" He asked.

"Zane stopped in here a little bit before Crowler came and got him." She explained.

"Oh…well, yah, he and Crowler were there too, so Chancellor Shepard said that there were these three really powerful cards berried beneath the school, and that these guys called 'the shadow riders' were gonna try to steel them but in order to get them you need the seven keys, and in order to get the keys, you gotta win them in a duel, so Shepard gave me, Alexis, Chazz, Bastion, Zane, Crowler, and Banner the seven keys to protect them, isn't that awesome?" Jaden explained. Kuronu just stared at Jaden.

"You mean," she said giving Jaden a worried look. "You're going to have to duel seven people in a shadow duel?" She asked.

"Yep." Jaden told her.

Kuronu sighed. She should've known that Jaden was going to take this way to lightly. "Well, what happens if these 'shadow riders' get the cards?"

"The world will be destroyed, or something like that." Jaden told her. Kuronu nearly fell off her bed. And of course, Jaden isn't at all worried.

"Hey Jaden, one more question." Kuronu said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh yah, what?" Jaden asked.

"How come I didn't get a key?" Kuronu shouted. Jaden was so startled by her out burst that he jumped back a few feet.

"Well," the boy said, scratching his cheek. "Probably because you're on crutches, which, according to Zane, you can barely use." Kuronu's eye twitched.

"He really said that?" She asked. Jaden nodded. "Great." Kuronu said, hanging her head.

"Well," Jaden said. "I should probably get going, later." Kuronu waved as Jaden left the room. She didn't see anyone again until lunch, when everyone came up to see her and gave her a better explanation of what was going on. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley basically spent most of the day in the infirmary with Kuronu, which Kuronu liked because she got really bored when she was alone. When it was time for dinner, the three left and went to have dinner.

**Jaden's dorm**

"Wow Jaden, aren't you at all worried?" Syrus asked.

"Nope." Jaden answered.

"I didn't think so." Syrus said as he climbed into his bed. Jaden put his deck in his deck slot on his duel disk that he placed by his pillow, then turned the light off and went to sleep.

**Outside **

Alexis looked at the slifer dorms with a worried expression. She knew that the shadow riders would go for who they thought was the weakest first, and Jaden's red blazer, they would surely go after him first. Alexis began to walk towards the dorm, when a burst came through the window of Jaden's room.

"Jaden!"

**Infirmary**

Kuronu rolled over in her bed as images raced through her head.

_There was a tall man in a long purplish black trench coat with a mask, he was dueling Jaden, He was winning. Syrus and Chumley were trapped in a blue sphere right above the lava, which was disappearing fast. Alexis was behind Jaden, watching with a horrific expression as he fell on his knees, the shadow duel was taking its toll on him. Something then happened, the lava was gone, Syrus and Chumley were by Jaden who was on the ground, and Alexis was hugging the masked one, crying on him. Everything swirled together and a castle came into view, there was a strange women, she had Syrus! Zane fell onto his knees, his eyes were dark and empty, he slowly began to disappear._

Kuronu sat straight up in her bed, sweat rolled down her neck and face. Her breathing was heavy, and the horrific pictures of her nightmare raced through mind. "Jaden," she whispered. He was in danger, so were Syrus and Chumley. And who was the man, why was Alexis crying on him, was it just a dream, or was it really happening. Kuronu looked out the infirmary window and saw that the volcano was spewing lava. Kuronu gasped.

She carefully got dressed, and somehow managed it without falling over. She then grabbed her crutches and carefully made her way out of the infirmary. After what seemed like hours, she managed to get outside. Kuronu sighed. "Great," She said scowling. "Now all I gotta do is clime a mountain!"

"Kuronu," The girl looked behind her and saw Zane. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, walking towards her.

"Zane, I got this really bad feeling that Jaden's in trouble!" Kuronu told him. Zane looked up at the volcano.

"I was just getting the same feeling, come on." Zane began to run towards the volcano, when he stopped and looked at Kuronu. It was obvious that she was going, and was going to do everything she could to get to Jaden, but there was no way she could get to him with a broken ankle.

"Here," Zane said, walking back over to her kneeling down. "Climb on my back, I'll carry you up." Kuronu blushed.

"Uh, are you sure?" Zane nodded. "Ok, if you're sure." Kuronu carefully climbed onto the obelisks back. As Zane stood, he saw Chazz and Bastion.

"Chazz, Bastion, over here!" Zane called. The two boys ran over to him.

"Zane, you're going to check out what's going too?" Bastion asked. Zane nodded. Chazz raised an eyebrow when he saw Kuronu.

"Uh," he began, but Zane just handed him Kuronu's crutches and began to run towards the mountain. "What the heck am I supposed to do with these?" Chazz asked.

"Just carry them." Zane called back. Chazz sighed, but followed him none the less.

**The volcano mountain place.**

"No!" Night shroud screamed as his life point meter dropped to zero. Jaden smiled as night shroud collapsed to the ground, a dark aura around him indicated that his soul was being taken. A big shiny light appeared, causing Alexis and Jaden to shield their eyes. When the light disappeared, they were on some other ledge place of the mountain. The lava was gone, and Syrus and Chumley were freed from their prison.

Alexis groaned as she got up, Syrus and Chumley ran over to her to help her up. "Where's Jaden?" Syrus asked, looking around worriedly.

"Over there!" Chumley shouted. Alexis, Syrus, and Chumley quickly ran over to Jaden who was lying on the ground motion less.

"Jaden," Syrus shouted. "Is he ok?" he asked. Alexis quickly check the slifer's pulse and sighed with relief.

"He's ok." She said. "Though very tired." Syrus and Chumley sighed also. Alexis then stood up and walked over to night shroud. She knelt down and looked at the card lying in front of him. A picture of a mask was on it. "Well, that's the last we'll see of him." She said quietly. She then noticed his mask had fallen off a bit. Alexis reached down and moved the mask away. She gasped when she saw his face.

"A-lexis." He said before he fell unconscious.

"Jaden!" Kuronu called as Zane, Bastion, Chazz, and Banner ran towards Jaden and the others. Kuronu carefully climbed off of Zane's back and hopped on her one foot and fell on her knees in front of Jaden. "Jaden." She said again. "Is he ok?" She asked.

Syrus nodded. "Yah, Alexis says that he's just tired." He explained. Zane then suddenly saw Alexis, she was crying. The obelisk got up and walked over to her.

"Alexis,"

"It's him Zane, I don't know how, but it's him." Alexis said, looking at Zane.

"Who?" He asked, wondering what in the world she was talking about.

Alexis moved so that Zane could see the shadow duelist. "It's him, my brother." Zane gasped. It was true; sitting by Alexis was her unconscious brother.

"Atticus?" He said quietly. Kuronu carefully limped over to the Alexis and Zane.

"I knew he'd come back Zane, I just knew it." Alexis said, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck.

"But isn't he evil?" Kuronu asked as the others walked over. Alexis shook her head.

"I guess when he lost the darkness in his heart was taken instead of his soul." Alexis explained. Kuronu was still confused. How the 'darkness in his heart' get there in the first place? Kuronu looked at Zane, she was worried. Her dream was obviously more than just a dream, but did this mean that Zane would lose his soul? Kuronu then looked at Jaden who was on Chumley's back. So Jaden beat the first shadow rider, but he or any of the others be able to beat the other six?

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Authoresses note: Ok, that chapter was pretty boring, sorry I didn't actually have Jaden and night shroud duel, but the truth is, I couldn't remember any of the duel. I'm telling you, I suffer from short term memory loss, that's why I'm so bad at math and science and spelling and grammar, there's to much stuff to remember! But the next chapter should be ok cuz I taped the ep where Zane duels (that was such a sad episode!) ok, wont update until I get 3 nice reviews. Constructive critism is welcome, just be nice, flamers, get lost, I don't feel like reading a bunch of e-mails that say over and over again that my story is really bad and blah, blah, blah, blah. Ok, that's all, byes.


	9. two souls taken

Authoresses note: Ok, hi peoples, thank you so much for reviewing. I would have updated on Tuesday, but I had to go to my sis's stupid science class AND mine, so I was gone all after noon. Ok, no flames, if you giveconstructive critism, be nice, and on with the chapter.

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Chapter 9: Two souls taken.

Kuronu looked at the different people in the infirmary, waiting to see if one of them would speak. Syrus was sitting by Jaden's bed as he rested from his last duel, while Alexis sat next to her unconscious brother, Atticus. Atticus had been one of the shadow riders that was here to get the seven keys so that they could get the three sacred beast cards, but when he lost the shadow duel to Jaden, the darkness inside of him was taken instead of his soul. The second half of the necklace that Jaden had gotten hung around his neck.

"So he had the second half?" Kuronu thought to herself. Kuronu couldn't wait till he woke up so that they could find out what happened to him, but she was guessing it was going to take while since he was in pretty bad shape.

The brown haired girl looked at the door. Zane, Chazz, Bastion, Crowler, and Banner were in Chancellor Shepard's office. There had been a rumor passed around the school that a female vampire was there, most likely meaning that another shadow rider was ready to try to take a key. Suddenly Chumley ran in.

"Hey guys, guess what?" He said as he sat down on one of the beds.

"You found where the vampire lady was?" Kuronu asked. Chumley stared at her for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yah, so now the others are going to duel her." He told them. Kuronu smiled as she grabbed her crutches.

"Sweet, let's go." She said as she stood up.

"Hold on, where do you thing you're going?" Alexis asked her, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm gonna go watch the duel. Come on Chumley, Syrus." Kuronu told her.

"No way, I'm staying here." Syrus said quickly.

"Me too." Chumley told her. Kuronu scowled.

"Well then how am I supposed to get to the duel? It'll take me like, an hour just to get down all those bloody steps!" Kuronu exclaimed.

Alexis crossed her arms and smiled. "Then I guess you can't go." Kuronu glared at her as she sat back down on the bed.

"Fine," Kuronu said. "But I'm seeing the next one, got it?"

Alexis didn't answer. She didn't want anything to do with these shadow duels, but if she couldn't help it, she'd duel in one. Alexis sighed as she watched Jaden sleep. She hoped the others would be ok.

"Some how I get the feeling that I'm not going to be able to see any shadow duels?" Kuronu asked as she stared at the ceiling.

"Consider yourself lucky then." Chumley told the girl. "Cuz shadow duel are so not lishis."

Kuronu raised an eyebrow. Oh yah, that was Chumley's thing, 'lishis' and 'not lishis' or, 'un lishis' or however you say it. "Whatever." Kuronu said grumpily.

"What's wrong Kuronu? You seem upset. You can't be that upset that you can't watch the duel." Syrus asked Kuronu.

Kuronu sighed. "I guess I'm just upset that the world is in danger and I can't do anything to help because of these stupid crutches!" She answered.

"It's ok." Syrus said as he put a comforting hand on the girls shoulder. "I wasn't chosen to hold a key either."

"Well that's 'cause you're not exactly the best duelist. Me, I could at least be in Ra." Kuronu explained. Syrus nearly fell over when he heard Kuronu say he wasn't that good of a duelist. Well, he did have to agree with her.

"Who do you think is dueling?" Chumley asked.

"Who knows?" Kuronu answered.

"So who's gonna duel?" Chazz asked.

Crowler and Banner began to creep behind the rest of the group, not wanting to duel, but when the two teachers banged into each other Crowler was so startled that he ran in front of the others. Everyone stared at him.

"Wow Crowler, you got guts." Chazz told him.

"Uh, of course, right, guts." Crowler said shaking.

"You ok Crowler, you're shaking?" Chazz asked.

Crowler forced himself to smile. "I'm shaking with excitement." He told them.

Suddenly, the wind blew and a red carpet rolled out across the ocean. Everyone took a deep breath as the saw a boat coming.

Kuronu sighed. "I'm so bored!" She exclaimed. "Can't we go check out how the duels doing?" she asked. No one answered. "Sticks in the mud." Kuronu muttered.

"Well," syrus said pulling out his PDA. "We could watch the duel on my PDA." He said. Kuronu blinked.

"You mean you've had that thing the whole time and you didn't tell me?" Kuronu shouted as she grabbed syrus by the collar of his blazer.

"Um, I forgot!" Syrus said, trying to get Kuronu to let go. Kuronu let go and lightly pushed him onto the bed next to her.

"Pht, you forgot." She muttered. Syrus quickly pulled out his PDA and soon found the duel.

"Hey, Crowler's dueling." He exclaimed. Everyone quickly ran over to see what was going on.

"I think he's loosing." Kuronu said worriedly. Kuronu wasn't a huge fan of Crowler, but she didn't want him to loose his soul. Kuronu sighed as she sat back down on her bed. "Maybe I don't want to watch." She said quietly. Syrus closed his PDA and but it back on his belt.

"Don't worry, Crowler's a good duelist right, he'll get through it." Syrus said, trying to comfort the slifer girl, but Kuronu wasn't convinced.

"I guess so." She muttered.

There was silence for several moments, and then they heard something. Everyone looked over and saw Jaden throwing the covers off. "Jaden," Alexis said as she ran back to his bed. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Come on, we're going to that duel." He answered. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't let him.

"Jaden you can't, you're not strong well enough." Alexis told him as she knelt down next to him.

"Nonsense," Jaden said leaning against the bed post as he tried to stand up. "Chumley can carry me, can't you?" Chumley nodded.

"You bet." Chumley said. Alexis bit her lip.

"Fine," Alexis said. "But I'll stay here." She told them. Jaden nodded as he climbed onto Chumley's back.

"Hey!" Kuronu said. "What about me? I can't walk!"

"Well Sy can't carry you." Jaden said.

Kuronu crossed her arms. "You're saying that I can't go, aren't you?" She asked. Jaden smiled.

"Yep." He said as Chumley and Syrus ran out of the room. Alexis smiled as she sat down next to her.

"Don't worry; you said you didn't want to watch anyways." Alexis told her. Kuronu shrugged. Hours seemed to pass, but it was actually only about ten minuets. Kuronu sighed as she lay back down on her bed.

"I'm so bored, when are they coming back? How long does it take to duel?" Kuronu said. Alexis smiled. Just then, Chazz walked through the door. Kuronu sat up. "Chazz! Who won?"

Chazz didn't answer. He looked down at the floor, and then pulled some thing out of his pocket. He looked at it for a moment, and then handed it to Kuronu. The two girls gasped. There in Kuronu's hands was a small doll with the face of doctor Crowler. As Kuronu stared at it, the others entered the room, all with the same look as Chazz on their faces.

"He-he lost?" Kuronu asked. Chazz nodded as he sat down on one of the beds.

"He was so close." Jaden muttered as Chumley set him down on a bed. "He almost won."

The room was filled with a deathly silence. "Well," Bastion said as he walked towards the door. "We should get some rest so that we'll have more strength to battle her." The others nodded as the left the room. Alexis stopped and looked at Jaden and Kuronu.

"You guys get some rest ok?" She told them. The two slifers nodded. Alexis forced a smile onto her face, but it wasn't very convincing.

Neither Kuronu nor Jaden felt like sleeping that night, though some time during the night Jaden fell asleep. Kuronu sighed. So this was how it felt to loose the soul of a friend, if Crowler even was a friend. The next day seemed empty and depressing. It was foggy, and every one was upset to hear that something had happened to Crowler; even the slifers were a bit upset. Zane, Alexis, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, Chazz, and even Banner came to see Jaden and Kuronu in the infirmary in between classes.

Jaden sighed. "So, think she'll attack again tonight?"

"Of course she will, she ain't leaving until she's got all the keys." Chazz said.

Jaden gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to let anyone else have their soul taken. "I'll duel her this time." He said.

"Please, you can hardly stand, there's no way you can duel." Chazz said. "You can't even win against a sheet." He said as he threw the sheet over Jaden's head. Kuronu smiled as she watched Jaden struggle to get the sheet off.

"There!" Jaden said as his emerged from the sheets. "I won." Chazz rolled his eyes.

"You did not, its best out of three." He said as he threw the sheets back over Jaden.

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "It's a sheet Jaden, not ten pound rug…if rugs are even that heavy…"

"Come on, you guys should rest before the next duel." Alexis said standing up from the bed she was sitting on.

"Good idea." Jaden said as he stopped his wrestling match with the sheets. Chazz rolled his eyes again.

"How many times do I gotta say it, you're not dueling Jaden, you're not well enough." Chazz said.

Kuronu smiled as she watched the other talk. She then noticed Zane leave the room quietly. Syrus had also noticed, in seeing how he followed his brother out. Kuronu gritted her teeth. She quietly grabbed her crutches and walked to the door frame.

"You're not going to duel those shadow riders, are you Zane?" Kuronu heard Syrus ask. Zane just smiled at his younger brother, then walked away with out a word. Kuronu felt a lump in her throat as the obelisk walked away. Her stomach churned inside her as she walked back to her bed. She didn't want Zane to duel. True, he was the best duelist here, but what if he somehow lost, would he even come back?

For the rest of the day, everyone prepared their decks. As night approached, Jaden began to get ready. "You gonna be ok by yourself Kuronu?" He asked. Kuronu nodded. She didn't want to watch this duel, not if Zane was dueling.

Syrus, Chumley, and Alexis ran out of the infirmary with Jaden ridding on Chumley's back. I sick feeling had taunted Kuronu all afternoon, and the feeling only got worst as time went on. Eventually, Kuronu could no longer stay awake. She had been up all night the previous night, and now was exhausted.

_Images flashed through her mind. Once again, she saw Zane, falling to his knees. His eyes were dark and empty, and then he slowly began to disappear._

Kuronu sat up in her bed. Heavy beads of sweat dripped down her face. She looked at the clock, she only been asleep for fifteen minuets. Kuronu grabbed her crutches and carefully walked out of the infirmary. She gulped as she looked down the steps. She carefully limped down the many steps.

Once outside, she was totally exhausted. "Well," she said looking at the ocean. "At least I don't gotta climb a mountain." But last time Zane was there to carry her. "I'm never going to get there in time." She said quietly.

Kuronu gulped. She slowly released her grip on the crutches and put her hand on the wall for support asthey fell to the ground. Kuronu slowly put her broken foot down on the ground, but quickly pulled it back up as pain ran through it.

"Ok." Kuronu said quietly. "I can do this." She closed her eyes, then put her foot down and ran forward. She stumbled as the pain returned, burning through her left leg, but the girl continued to run; she had to get to the duel.

After what seemed like hours of immense pain, she reached the lake. She collapsed onto the groaned, trying to hold back the tears. She looked around, and then saw the blood red carpet. She carefully got up put her foot on the carpet, making sure that it didn't sink under the water. She took a deep breath as she began to run again. She eventually got to the castle. In one of the halls was a set of stairs. Kuronu groaned. She carefully climbed up the steps. Her left foot was now basically numb, so the pain wasn't as immense.

As she climbed up the stairs, she tripped. The pain was beginning to return. Kuronu began to breathe heavily. She was about to give up and wait till the others were leaving to bring her back, when she heard something. It was Zane.

"Syrus, run!" She heard him yell. Kuronu gasped. Syrus! He needed help. Kuronu got up and began to run down the halls. She didn't care if her foot hurt; she had to get to that duel. Kuronu smiled as she saw light. There it was.

Kuronu ran through the door and gasped. The cyber end dragon, but it wasn't on Zane's side. "Zane!" She yelled. The others looked over and were shocked to see her.

"Kuronu, what are you-?" Jaden began, but Kuronu ran towards the steps before he could finish. Kuronu quickly ran up the steps. Zane's life point meter dropped to zero, he fell to his knees as his key disappeared from his neck.

Kuronu collapsed by him and hugged him tightly. Tears dripped down her face. She gasped as he began to disappear. She tried to grab him, but her fingers went right through him. "No, don't go!" She sobbed.

Camula smirked. She looked down at the doll she was holding and her smile broadened as Zane's features appeared on it. "He is bit shorter, and a tad less talkative, but still a well deserved prize." The vampire said. She was about to leave when she felt something tugging on her arm, it was Syrus.

"Give him back! Give back my big brother!" He cried.

The vampire glared at him. She pushed him to the ground, and then threw the doll at him. "Fine, keep your brother; he is no use to me anyways." And with that said she vanished.

Syrus Carefully picked the doll up and looked at it. Warm tears dripped down his face. "It's my entire fault." He said quietly. "It's my fault."

"Kuronu!" Jaden said as he tried to get off of Chumley's back.

"No Jaden, stay here." Alexis said putting her hand on his shoulder to keep him from running off. Chazz and Bastion quickly ran up the steps to where Kuronu was, and where Zane used to be.

The two boys knelt down next to the crying girl and looked at each other. "How on earth did she get here without her crutches?" Bastion asked, completely bewildered.

"Who knows, just help me get her on my back." Chazz replied. So Bastion did so. Some time on the way back to the infirmary Kuronu fell asleep. Once in the infirmary, Chazz laid the girl on her bed and pulled the sheets up to her shoulder blades.

Jaden looked at Kuronu sadly from his bed. _"This has to stop."_ Jaden said to himself. _"I'm tired of seeing people get hurt. No more. Tomorrow, I'm dueling Camula."_

Syrus sat on the last bed in the room. He looked at his older brother sadly. He had managed to keep from crying on the way back here, but he could no longer do so. Tears streamed freely down his face as he cried silently. He then felt a pair of arms rap around his body.

"It'll be ok Syrus; we'll get your brother back and Crowler." Alexis said softly. Syrus wiped a tear from his face and smiled at the taller girl.

"Thanks." He said quietly. The two got up and followed the others out of the infirmary in seeing how Jaden had also fallen asleep and there was no reason to stay in there. Syrus was about to leaven when he stopped. He quietly walked over to Kuronu and placed the doll of his brother on her pillow next to her head.

"Don't worry Zane, Jaden's gonna get you back."

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Authoresses note: Oh yay, an update! Ok yah, I know Camula kept the Zane doll, but I couldn't bear to think that someone as awesome as Zane was stuck in the clutches of someone so hideous! Even though Camilla isn't exactly ugly except for when her mouth goes all weird. Yah…………anyways, hope you liked that chapter, wont update till I get 5 reviews. Remember, no flames please, and I f I spelled some stuff wrong or my grammar is bad, don't flame cuz I know, but I don't think anything should be spelled wrong unless I spelled something wrong and when I went to change it I picked the wrong word…so yah….ok, please review.


	10. Jaden vs Camula

Authoresses note: hey there peoples, sorry it's been so long since an update, but I've had a very busy week, what with a standoff taking place right in front of my house, right on my b-day….so yah, busy week last week..yah.. Ok, thanks everyone who reviewed and liked my story, you guys rock. Thanks for being so patient too. It's gonna be hard for me update now cuz I'm not aloud on the computer during the week days now, and I can't update on the week ends, so I can only update when both my parents are out, like now, so yah… ok, on with the story. Oh yah, if I have someone talking, and then do the little parenthesis things () those, it's the person talking to themselves, you'll see later.

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Chapter 10: (woot, woot! I reached chapter ten, woot woot!)

Kuronu opened her eyes a crack and stared up at the blurry ceiling of the infirmary. The girl groaned and rolled over.

"So you're awake?" She heard a voice ask. Kuronu groaned again.

"Jaden?" she asked wearily.

"Yep, how are you feeling?" She heard the boy asked. Kuronu sat up and rubbed her head.

"Like I'm seriously going to barf." She answered. Usually this would make Jaden laugh, but the boy figures that Kuronu wasn't in the mood for humor. Kuronu collapsed onto her back. She shifted her head and felt something brush against it. She glanced over and saw the one thing she wanted to see least.

Kuronu lightly touched the small doll that was lying next to her head. "Zane," she said whispered. Kuronu clutched the doll in her hand and gently nuzzled it. "So it wasn't a dream." She murmured. Jaden slowly shook his head no. The girl sighed at sat up again, still feeling woozy.

"Well, I guess that's how you feel when you wake up after crying you're self to sleep." Kuronu said sighing. She then noticed something different. She looked down at her foot and saw that the cast had been removed and replaced with a light bandage, (not the type that I have on the toe right now, AKA, the stupid, sticky spider man one that hurts when you take it off, I mean the one you have when you sprain your ankle or something.)

"Uh, Jaden," the girl began.

"Oh yah, Well, when we got back here last night, miss Fontaine thought it was totally weird that you had been able to run, let alone walk with a broken ankle, she check your x-rays again, and well, it turns out your ankle was never broken." Jaden explained.

"Huh?" Kuronu asked dryly.

Jaden sighed. "When miss Fontaine first checked your x-ray, the machine thing must have been malfunctioning, so it looked like you had broken it, but when miss Fontaine checked them again last night it was working, revealing that this whole time your ankle was just twisted, or sprained, I don't really know the difference."

Kuronu blinked. "So, it's healed?" she asked.

"No." Jaden answered. "It'll take a bit longer to heal since you ran on it last night, but it should be fully healed in a few weeks." Jaden said smiling.

Kuronu weekly smiled. It was the first time she had smiled since some time yesterday. "A few weeks, that's good. My parents would totally freak if they saw that I had been injured on academy property. They'd probably sue Shepard or something."

Jaden was confused. "But, why wouldn't they sue Seto Kaiba? he's the one who owns the school." Jaden asked. Kuronu nearly fell off the bed.

"Well," she said, scratching her arm nervously. "See, Seto Kaiba( man, this is so cool saying my dad's first name) doesn't really do much with the school, he just owns it and pays the bills for it and stuff, Chancellor Shepard is the one who's pretty much in charge of the students.(Besides, my dad isn't gonna sue himself, that's totally ridiculous.)"

"Oh." Jaden said, still confused. "But your ankle would be healed be the summer time anyways."

Kuronu sweat dropped (you know, the thing they do in the actual show) "I was talking about going home for Christmas vacation." Kuronu told him.

"Oh yah forgot about Christmas," Jaden said. "What with all that's happened around here." Kuronu glanced at the floor.

"You know Jaden; I was thinking that maybe you, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz, Bastion, Alexis, Zane, maybe even Jasmine and Mindy would like to come to my house for Christmas." Kuronu told him. Jaden looked her.

"Is your house big enough to fit all those people?" The boy asked.

Kuronu smirked. "Oh believe me, it's big enough." She answered. "But, we need to get Zane back first."

"Don't worry, I'll get Zane back, but I still don't think I can go. I have to stay here and watch the school." Jaden said quietly.

Kuronu looked down at the floor. "But Jaden, if you come to my house, the shadow riders will have a hard time finding you guys, and you can protect the keys better." Kuronu told him.

Jaden shook his head no. "But what if the shadow riders attack the rest of the school, no one will be here to protect the other students."

Kuronu sighed. "Jaden,"

"I'll think about it, ok?" Jaden asked. Kuronu thought about it. She really needed an answer now, though it wouldn't do much good if she didn't even tell the others about her family.

"Ok Jay, but you'd better think about it." Jaden nodded. A cold silence filled the room. The only other person there was Atticus, and he was unconscious. "How's Syrus doing?" Kuronu asked, hating the silence that had filled the room.

Jaden looked at her. "Hm, Oh, I don't know, I haven't seen any of the others yet." He replied.

"Oh, ok." was Kuronu's answer. Kuronu lay down on her bed again and rolled over onto her side so she was facing away from Jaden. She didn't feel like looking at, or talking to anyone. Her stomach churned every time she looked at the doll that she held in her hands.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, for Jaden anyways, mostly because he kept falling asleep. As night fell, Alexis came in to sit with her brother and keep Jaden and Kuronu from being too lonely. Alexis looked at Jaden as he tried to sleep, but he seemed restless. Next to him was Kuronu's bed, where the girl lay motionless. Alexis sighed.

"_I have my brother back," _the obelisk girl thought to herself. _"But now Zane's gone."_ Alexis thought back to last night's duel. "Poor Syrus." She muttered. Alexis looked back at her brother and gasped when she saw his necklace glowing. Her eyes widened as she saw her brother slowly open his eyes. It looked as though he was trying to say something, so she quickly removed his oxygen mask (thinger)

"Alexis," He said slowly. "Camula is not like the other shadow riders, in order to beat her and break through the darkness, a shadow item is necessary" (or something like that.) Atticus slowly held up his half of the necklace.

"Atticus," Alexis began, but then saw Jaden through his covers off.

"Come on Alexis," he said, climbing out of bed. "Help me to the lake, I'm dueling!" Alexis just stared at him for a minuet.

"You're crazy Jaden! You're not well," she protested.

"I'm duelin'" Jaden said again. Alexis sighed. She carefully removed her brother's necklace from around his neck and slowly began to walk over to Jaden.

"Here." She said, handing the item to him. "You'll need it if you want to win." Jaden gratefully took the necklace and put it around his neck.

"Thanks Atticus." He quietly said to the older boy.

"Come on, we can take a boat." Alexis said as she began to walk out the door. Jaden stopped at looked at Kuronu, who had sat up sometime in the last few minuets.

"Jaden," She said quietly.

"Don't worry. I'm gonna bring everyone back safe, including my self." Jaden said, putting a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

Kuronu bit her lip, then reached up and tightly rapped her arms around Jaden's neck. "Thank you Jaden." She said.

"For what?" He asked, a bit surprised by the sudden hug.

"For everything." She answered, letting go of him. "But if you lose your soul, I swear I'll kill you."

"Don't worry, there's gonna be no need for killing." Jaden said, backing away from Kuronu nervously. Kuronu smiled.

"Good, because I don't feel like going to jail." Jaden smiled at the girl, and then left the room with Alexis. Kuronu sighed, Atticus had fallen back asleep, and so she was now all alone. She was starting to wish that she had gone with Jaden to see the duel, but she didn't want to be there if he lost.

Hours seemed to pass. Kuronu sighed again, and just out of sheer boredom, she began to talk to Zane. "So, how does it feel to have your soul stuck in a doll?" She asked.

"…" was Zane's response.

"I thought so." Kuronu said placing the doll next to her. "I don't get it, Chazz said that Crowler could talk, why can't Zane?" Kuronu crossed her legs and folded her arms. She tapped her foot that wasn't sprained on the floor. Then, with out warning, though there isn't really anyone to warn, Kuronu yelled, pulled on her hair, and fell onto her back on the bed.

"I'M SO BORED! THIS IS SO BORING! I CAN'T TAKE IT!" she yelled, followed by heavy breathing. Fonda Fontaine, who was standing in the doorway, stared at the slifer girl.

"I think she's gone insane." She said to her self.

Kuronu rolled over and looked at Zane. "Man, I wish you were here right now, or at least awake or something so I could talk to you."

"You already are talking to me." A voice from no where said. Kuronu shrieked and fell off the bed. Kuronu slowly got up and looked at the doll.

She poked it. "Ow." A low, monotone voice said. Kuronu ducked under the bed again. After wandering what in the world that was for a few minuets, she looked at it again.

"That you Zane?" She asked, getting ready to poke the doll again.

"Don't poke me." It said. Kuronu quickly pulled her finger back.

"Ok, but Zane, that you in there?" She asked again.

"Who else would it be?" It asked. Kuronu jumped a little…ok, more like totally freaked out and dove behind the bed next to her, thus, hitting her ankle on the metal foot board and shrieking with pain. As Kuronu massaged her foot, she heard the doll say, "Oh brother."

Kuronu blushed. She carefully crawled back to her bed, and looked at the doll. "Sorry Zane, it's just kinda weird to here you talking when your soul is stuck in a doll, heh, heh."

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Miss Fontaine blinked. "Poor girl," she said quietly as she watched the girl dive behind the bed. "She misses him so much she thinks she can hear him."

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"Don't worry Zane, Jaden's gone to duel Camula, and when he beats her, you and Crowler will get your souls back." Kuronu said excitedly.

"That is, assuming he wins." Zane said. Kuronu sweat dropped.

"_Is it just me," _the girl said to herself. _"Or Zane acting really negative, and kind of like a jerk? The doll must be changing his personality." _"Don't worry, Jaden will totally kick her butt!"

"You'd better be right." Zane replied. Kuronu sweat dropped again._ "Ok, Zane is starting to get annoying."_

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"Oh my goodness," Miss Fontaine said nervously. "Now she's talking to it. I think she really has gone insane, I have to go tell the chancellor" And with that, the teacher ran off to inform Shepard of Kuronu's so called, 'insanity.'

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"How long has Jaden been gone?" Zane asked.

"Not sure, it's felt like hours, but I'm getting the distinct feeling that it's only been five minuets." Kuronu replied.

"Great." Zane said.

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"What do you mean Miss Kuronu has gone insane?" the chancellor asked the gym teacher, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, at first it was just boredom I think, then I think she missed Zane so much that she felt as though she started hearing him speak, but then, then, she, she, she started, well, she started talking to it…the Zane doll that is…"

"Oh my," Shepard said. "But I don't think this is serious."

"You don't?" Miss Fontaine asked.

"No." the chancellor answered. "I think she's just tired and depressed. With a little rest, I'm sure she'll be back to normal tomorrow." But Miss Fontaine still didn't look convinced "But I guess I could take a look anyways."

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Kuronu sighed. This Zane was no fun at all. He was grumpy and overly sarcastic, it was annoying. Kuronu stared at the doll.

"Why are you staring at me?" The doll asked.

"Sorry, just thinking." Kuronu said. Kuronu was curious about how he could talk. She slowly lowered her finger and was about to poke his mouth when,

"Don't poke me!" Zane shouted. Kuronu quickly pulled her finger away.

"Ok, ok, I get it." She said.

"No, you don't get it. You think you get it, but that's not actually the same as getting it, get it?" Zane told her.

Kuronu blinked. "Uh, yah, sure." Kuronu sighed. This was so boring. She was tempted to sneak away and watch the duel, but Miss Fontaine probably wouldn't allow it. Kuronu's eye began to twitch. "Must- control- boredom." She said.

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked irritably.

"Must- control- erg- to throw." She said, crossing her arms. But it wasn't enough. See, when Kuronu got extremely bored, she would just yell random stuff and throw random stuff, and usually ended up breaking one of her parent's priceless vases and got grounded. Kuronu grabbed the Zane doll and tossed him across the room, followed by random yells.

After the girl had calmed down, she suddenly noticed what she had done. The girl crawled across the floor as fast as she could (she still needs crutches and doesn't feel like getting them) When she reached Zane she picked him up in her hands.

"Zane, are you ok? Speak to me Zane, speak to me!"

**In the doorway**

"Speak to me Zane, speak to me!" Shepard and Miss Fontaine heard the slifer girl say. Shepard looked at the women next to him and saw that she was looking at him with one of those really annoying 'I told you so' looks.

**In the infirmary**

"Uh, Kuronu," Kuronu turned her head to see who had spoken to her. She saw the chancellor and Miss Fontaine, looking nervously at her. Kuronu quickly crawled over to the two staff people.

"Chancellor, it's horrible, I killed Zane! Or knocked him out at least! What do I do? I have no one to talk to now!" Kuronu wailed.

"Kuronu, are you sure that you just weren't so bored, that you started hearing Zane's voice, and then convinced yourself that he could speak?" Shepard asked the girl. Kuronu crossed her arms.

"What exactly, chancellor, are you implying? That I'm insane?" Kuronu asked. The two adults looked at each other.

"Well," Shepard began.

"I am not insane. Zane can talk in this present form, not very nicely, but he can talk non the less." Kuronu said in that stubborn tone of hers.

"Kuronu," Shepard said as he pulled her up onto her feet, which hurt so Kuronu could only stand on one foot. Shepard put an arm around the girl and led her back to her bed. "Kuronu, what you need is some rest." Shepard sat the girl down on her bed and smiled at her. "Now lay down." He told her.

"Why?" Kuronu asked.

"Lay down." Shepard told her again.

"Why?" Kuronu asked again.

"Lay down."

"Why?"

"Lay down."

"Why?"

"Lay down."

"Why?"

And this continued for a while. Miss Fontaine looked from the chancellor, to the young girl, and so on as they had their little 'conversation'. Well actually it was more like a quarrel, but whatever.

"Just lie down and go to sleep." Shepard said. Kuronu lay down but still asked,

"Why?"

Shepard pulled the sheets up to her shoulders and smiled at her. "Because, you're tired and you need rest." He explained.

"No I'm not, and no I don't." Kuronu argued.

"Just rest." Shepard said, getting a bit annoyed at her. He handed her the Zane doll, and left, while Miss Fontaine sat in a chair near Atticus, making sure that Kuronu stayed put.

Kuronu pulled the sheets up to her neck and rolled onto her side, and waited until she got some sort of sign that Jaden had won, or lost. Again, it felt like hours had passed.

"_What's taking so long?"_ she asked herself. Kuronu was just about to fall asleep, when she felt a light vibrating coming from the Zane doll. Gasped and sat up, holding the tiny item in both her hands. The doll began to glow.

'_What's happening?"_ she asked herself, placing the doll on her pillow. Kuronu watched in amazement as the doll began to grow, and before she knew it, Zane was there, in his real body. Kuronu grabbed his arm as he began to fall off the bed and pulled him back on, lowering her self onto the floor as she did so.

Kuronu stared at the obelisk. She could feel Miss Fontaine also stare. Kuronu bit her lip. "Jaden." She muttered quietly. "You did it…you really did it." Tears gently rolled down her face, only this time they were tears of joy. (I still don't get why people cry when they're happy) Kuronu brushed her hand across Zane's face, she wondered if maybe she hadn't thrown him against the wall, he would've been awake now, but a part of her was glad that he was asleep. Kuronu leaned over him. Then, she slowly bent down and placed a wet kiss on his left cheek.

"Thank you Jaden." She said, sitting on the bed next to the one that used to be hers, but now it belonged to Zane.

**Outside**

Syrus ran as fast as his short little legs could carry him (syrus fan girls, please don't kill me) Jaden did it, he beat Camula. Crowler's soul had been returned, so the young boy was sure that when he got to the infirmary, he'd see his big brother in his real body, and Kuronu would be next him, most likely crying.

"Wait up Sy!" Jaden called from somewhere behind him. "I can't run as fast as you!" But Syrus wasn't listening. All he could think about was seeing Zane, and apologizing for making him lose the duel.

"_If it weren't for me, Zane never would have lost the duel. I have to apologies."_ He said to himself. Syrus ran into the main building and up the many stairs to the infirmary.

**Infirmary**

Kuronu smiled at Zane's unconscious figure. "Jaden and the others should be back any minuet now, and I bet Syrus can't wait to see you." She said to him, even though he couldn't hear her. Kuronu sighed, when she heard footsteps in the doorway. The girl turned around and saw Syrus, trying to get his breath back.

"Is… he back?" He asked, slowly walking over to where Kuronu sat. Kuronu smiled and slowly nodded. Syrus smiled. Syrus quietly walked over to the bed where his brother slept and smiled even more. Kuronu's ears slightly twitched as the sound of foot steps and panting reached her ears. The girl turned around and saw Jaden run into the room.

"Sy, I told you to wait up." He said. One would have thought that he was made at Syrus, but the broad smile on his face said other wise. The slifer walked over to where Kuronu and Syrus were.

"You did it Jaden!" Kuronu shouted as she hugged him tightly. "You really did it!"

"Ok, yah, I did it, stop hugging me now." Jaden said, finding he was having hard time breathing. Kuronu released him and smiled.

"Where are the others?" Kuronu asked, looking around.

"I think the others went back to their dorm, the said they'd come see Zane tomorrow. Something about, giving Zane some time to rest, even though in my opinion, he's had plenty time to rest." Jaden, half laughing. Kuronu and Syrus glared at him. "What?" He asked.

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "Nothing." She said. "Look, you two should get some sleep, you must be exhausted Jaden."

"Yah, I am pretty tired. Hey, I bet you can come back to the dorm now, Kuronu, let's go." Jaden said, but Kuronu shook her head no.

"That's ok; I think I'll sleep here one more time." She told them. Syrus looked as though he wanted to sleep here too. "I'll keep an eye your brother Syrus; nothing's going to happen to him." She said.

"Ok," Jaden leading Syrus to the door. "Good night, and uh, don't do 'anything' to Zane." Kuronu glared at him and threw one of her crutches at him that was on the floor.

"Jaden, I'm gonna kill you as soon as I can walk normally again!" She shouted as he Jaden dragged Syrus out of the infirmary. "Morons." Kuronu muttered once they were gone. Kuronu put both her feet on her bed and crawled under the covers. "Hope you wake up soon Zane." She said. It was only when Miss Fontaine turned out the infirmary lights that Kuronu remembered she was in there.

"She was in here the whole time!" Kuronu thought to herself. "Man, she's quiet."

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Authoresses note: Ok guys, there's the 10 chapter. Hey lookie, the 10 chapter is 10 pages long, lol. Ok, guys, I am so sorry it took me so long to update, but I can only update when my mom goes out, especially now that I can't go on the computer on week days. Did I already say this? Oh well, I'm sayin it again. Ok, weird ending I know, but I needed to finish it; I started this chapter like, last Wednesday! Oh well, I'll try to get the next chapter up by Tuesday, promise (I promised that I'd try, just to clear that up in case someone was confused) Ok, won't update til I get 5 reviews, but I think you guys can manage that pretty quickly. Um, no flames, constructive criticism (yes! I finally spelled it right!) is welcome, but please be nice.


	11. underwater duel

Authoress note: Ok guys, thanks for reviewing, this note is gonna be short cuz I don't got a lot of time to write this. Um, I'm gonna try to have a duel in this chapter, so sorry that it's gonna be so bad.

Chapter 11: Underwater duel

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Zane groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His head felt heavy and his joints were stiff. As he slowly opened his eyes he saw a brownish, red blur above him. As his eyes began to focus more he could depict large, blue eyes, full of anxiety. "Kuronu?" He mumbled. The girl smiled.

"You are awake!" she exclaimed. Zane slowly sat up in his hospital bed, and looked at the slifer girl. "What a relief, I was so worried about you." She told him. "I'm so sorry that I poked you!" She cried, hugging him tightly. "And that I threw you against the wall, and-"

"What are you talking about? What happened?" He asked. Kuronu blinked.

"You don't remember?" She asked franticly.

"The last thing I remember was dueling Camula, and seeing you." He told her. Zane soon began to realize exactly what had happened as a look of anguish appeared on the girl's face. "I lost, didn't I?"

"Only because she would've taken Syrus' soul." Kuronu said.

The memories of the duel came flooding back through Zane's mind. "So who beat her?" he asked.

Kuronu blinked. "Huh?" she asked. Zane chuckled.

"Well, obviously someone defeated her in seeing how I'm here." He told her. Kuronu smiled.

"Jaden of course." Kuronu told him. Zane smiled.

"Of course." Zane repeated. Kuronu was about to reply when she heard someone run into the infirmary. As Kuronu turned around, a blur of red and light blue ran past her, and tackled Zane, or at least it looked like 'it' tackled him.

"Zane, you're ok, you're ok." Syrus cried as he hugged his brother tightly.

"Syrus, what are you doing? Get off." Zane said trying to push his younger brother off of him, but Syrus wouldn't budge.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" The boy continued. As Zane struggled to remove his younger sibling off of him, Syrus struggled to keep him self from being removed, thus, the result was the two brothers toppled off the bed.

"Zane, Syrus, you guys ok?" Kuronu asked, looking to see if they were ok. Zane sighed.

"Syrus, please remove your self from my being." Zane said, with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Syrus quickly got up, allowing Zane to stand. "I'm sorry Zane, it's just, well it's just," Syrus began to say. Zane glanced at his brother and a warm smile appeared on his face.

"I know. I'm glad to see you too, Sy." He said, placing a hand on his brother's head. Syrus smiled.

Kuronu sniffed and wiped a small tear from her eye. "That… should be in a soap opera" she said. The two brothers looked at each other, than at her.

"Yah…." Syrus said.

"Oh Kuronu," Zane began to ask. "What were you saying about poking me, and throwing me against the wall?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Syrus looked shocked.

Kuronu blushed. "Uh…I didn't say that." She lied.

"Yah you did." Zane argued.

"You threw Zane against the wall?" Syrus shouted. "I trusted you with him, and what do you do? You poke him and throw him against the wall!"

"I'm sorry." Kuronu said, looking at the floor.

Zane blinked. "I'm confused." He said. Kuronu and Syrus gasped.

"Oh my word, Zane is confused?" Syrus shouted.

"Run for your lives, it's the apocalypse!" Kuronu shouted.

Zane raised an eyebrow. "What are you guys talking about?" He asked. The two slifers looked at each other.

"Well, you're like, never confused, so we were just kinda making fun of you." Kuronu explained. Syrus quickly nodded.

"Ok….." Zane said, looking at the people in front of him.

Kuronu scratched her arm, hating the uncomfortable silence that filled the room. "So…where's Jaden?" She asked Syrus.

"Oh, Jaden's at the dorm, Chumley and I are going to take him to the academy wading pools." Syrus explained.

"Why?" Kuronu asked. _"Boy, that's a stupid question. 'why?'; because he wants to relax!" _Kuronu said to herself.

"Well, Jaden had a bad dream last night," Syrus began to explain.

"A bad dream? About what's been going on here?" Kuronu asked.

Syrus nodded. "Yah, so we're going to take him to the wading pools."

"Cool, let's go!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"You can't." Syrus told her. Kuronu blinked.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because they're going to the guys wading pool, no girls aloud." Zane explained to her. Kuronu crossed her arms.

"I knew that." She said. Syrus and Zane smirked. "So is Jaden alright?" Kuronu asked.

Syrus nodded. "Oh yah, he's just kind of quiet, that's all." Syrus explained. "Well, I should get going; I just came to see if Zane was awake. Bye guys." Syrus said as he ran out of the infirmary. Zane sat back down on his bed and looked at Kuronu. She had a worried expression on her face.

"Kuronu?" He began to ask.

"Being quiet isn't like Jaden at all. The dream must have really upset him." Kuronu said. Zane smiled. He reached out and grabbed Kuronu's hand and pulled her onto the bed. The girl blushed vigorously as Zane placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jaden will be fine." He said trying to comfort the girl. Kuronu smiled weakly, though she was still worried.

"Right, of course he'll be fine." She said, trying to convince herself that what she said was true. "But I'm going to go see, just to make sure." She said standing up. She began to walk towards the door, but stopped and turned around to look at Zane.

"What's wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Kuronu slowly walked back to Zane and moved her face so close to his that their noses were but a few inches apart. Zane tried to move his head back a little. The girl leaned closer, and then she blinked and moved back, like she hadn't known what she was doing.

"Sorry, I thought you had something on you're nose." She said slightly bowing. "But you don't, my bad, see ya!" She said and ran out of the room. Zane blinked. He lightly touched his nose, and then looked back at the door.

"What…just happened?" He asked.

**Outside.**

Kuronu ran as fast as she could with the crutches. Her ankle was almost completely healed, but not quite there. Kuronu stopped running once she got to the slifer dorms.

"What was I thinking?" she asked herself. "Oh yah, that's right, I wasn't thinking, I'm never thinking." She said, pacing back and forth in front of the dorms. She was about to continue her rant, when she heard someone clear their throat, or one of those things where the person is just trying to get someone's attention. Kuronu looked up at the upper deck and saw Chazz.

"Shouldn't you be back in your little hospital bed?" He asked, walking down the steps.

"Shouldn't you be at, um, wherever it is you, um, go?" Kuronu retorted. Chazz raised an eyebrow. "I so need to work on my retorts." Kuronu said.

"You got that right." Chazz told her, smirking in his usual annoyingly smirkish way. "So what's your problem this time?" Chazz asked her.

"None of your business." Kuronu said, crossing her arms. "So where are you going?" She asked

"None of your business." Chazz told her. The two glared at each other for a moment, then Chazz left to his designated place, and Kuronu went up to her dorm.

"I just hope I can remember which one it is, it's been so long since I've been here." Kuronu said as she walked up the steps.

'My offer for the big sign that says-" Chazz began to tell her.

"No thanks!" Kuronu told him, rolling her eyes. Kuronu opened one of the doors, and to her amazement, it was the right one. "Sweet!" she said smiling. Kuronu walked in and looked around. Her three room mates were gone. "Guess they already went to the wading pool." She said, sitting down on her bed. Kuronu sighed, and then she had an idea. "They've gotta be wearing swim suits." She told herself. "It'll be like a pool party!" She said, pulling out her suite case and looking through it.

**Academy wading pool.**

Chazz groaned as he dried his towel off. "Stupid slackers, why do they always have to get me involved in their stupid little games." He complained. Just then, ojama yellow spirit came out.

"I'm with you boss." He said, floating around his 'boss'.

"No, you're not!" Chazz said, pushing the spirit into the water. "Now go away." The spirit glared at him.

"Fine, I'm already late for the spirit festival anyways." He told him. Chazz blinked.

"What are talking about?" Chazz asked.

Kuronu carefully crawled on towards the water. So far, she hadn't seen Jaden, Syrus, or even Chumley. She sighed and sat on the ground Indian style. "Where are they? This place isn't that big." She asked herself. She then heard talking, not to far from where she was. "Chazz?" She asked, crawling towards the ledge. Kuronu looked down and saw Chazz on the other side, talking to someone that Kuronu could not see.

"What are you talking about?" He asked…thin air?

"Hey Chazz, who are you talking to?" She called down. Chazz froze. He slowly looked up to see Kuronu on the opposite ledge. His jaw dropped like a rock in water.

'Kuronu?" He shouted. "What are you doing in here?" He asked.

"I came to see Jaden." She told him. "I heard he had a bad dream so I came to make sure he was ok." Chazz's eye began to twitch. Here he was, in the guys wading pool, and the only thing he had on was a towel. It wasn't to long after Chazz thought this that Kuronu also noticed his appearance. "Ack!" she screamed, and quickly covered her eyes. "My eyes, they have been scared for life!" she said in a dramatic voice.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have come!" Chazz shouted at her. "And can you even swim with your ankle being sprained?"

"No." Kuronu admitted. She began to craw around, looking for the way out, when she fell off the cliff and into the water. "Ouch, that hurt." She said, trying to find her way out which was hard because her eyes were closed.

"Get out of here!" Chazz yelled.

"I can't." Kuronu said. "I can't, ow!" she said as she banged into the ledge.(or was it a cliff). "I can't see." She continued.

"Than open your eyes." Chazz told her.

"No way, I might see you then." she said.

"Then I'll swim away, and you can leave!" Chazz shouted, now really annoyed.

"But I still might see you." Kuronu said, stubbing her toe on a rock. Kuronu yelped in pain as she massaged her toe, which was hard cuz she couldn't stand on her one foot, causing her to fall beneath the water.

"At least she has a swim suite on." Chazz said, carefully crawling into the water and swimming off. He was still confused about what ojama yellow had said.

Jaden blinked. "What's going on over there?" He asked him self. He was about to go check it out, when he heard the voice of winged kuriboh. A few minuets ago, winged kuriboh had appeared and indicated for Jaden to follow it, so Jaden continued to follow. As Jaden looked for his duel spirit, he was suddenly pulled down into a hole of some type.

When Jaden hit the floor of some under water cavern of some type, he realized that he was in his clothes and had his duel disk. "What the-" he said, looking around. Jaden quickly moved out of the way as something else fell from above. When the dust cleared, Chumley, Syrus, Chazz, and,

"Kuronu?" Jaden shouted. Chumley turned around to look at the slifer girl.

"Kuronu, where?" Syrus asked. "Where are my glasses, I can't see without my glasses. A large koala behind him handed them to him. "Thanks Chumley." Syrus said, but then noticed Chumley sitting in front of him. Looked behind him and gasped. "Des Koala?" he said. He then looked at what Chumley and Jaden were looking at. "Kuronu?" He exclaimed.

"What are you doing here, K?" Jaden asked. Kuronu looked around and smiled.

"Yes!" She shouted, standing up on both her feet. "You all have clothes!" she said jumping up and down.

"Ah, Kuronu…" Jaden said, pointing at her feet.

"What?" the girl asked. Kuronu blinked, she then noticed what Jaden was about to say. "Yes!" she said again. "Both my ankles are totally healed!" She said, beginning to do some type of weird dance. "Move," she said as she shook her body. "Groove, m-, ow!" she said as Chazz whacked her over the head.

"Stop acting like a moron." He said.

"Oh yah, well you should stop acting like, um, a, um, a, a, a, oh forget it!" Kuronu shouted, crossing her arms. Chazz rolled his eyes.

Jaden looked around and saw a bunch of duel monster spirits. "Where are we?" He asked.

"Looks like we're in some sort of spirit world type place." Chazz said.

"Yep, that's right." Ojama yellow said. "Isn't it cool?"

"Try bizarre." Jaden said.

"Who are you calling bizarre?" A low voice asked. Everyone turned around to see who had spoken. Kuronu's jaw dropped like a rock when she saw him.

"It's kaiba man." Ojama yellow said happily.

"Kaiba man?" Jaden asked.

"Shut up!" Kuronu shouted. Everyone looked at her. "Shut up, shut up!"

"What's your problem this time?" Chazz asked, really annoyed with her constant freaking out. Kuronu covered her mouth, that way she didn't accidently say something that she was gonna regret.

"Wait, so he's a duel monsters card?" Jaden asked, standing up. "So, are you the one who brought us all here, or is this some kind of shadow rider scheme?"

Kaiba man smirked. "You ask a lot of questions, but I'm afraid you won't get any answers," He replied. "Unless you want to take me on in a duel now." The duel disk on his arm glowed, then unfolded or whatever. Jaden gritted his teeth, but activated his duel disk none the less.

"Hmp, from the looks of you I'd say you're ready, but from what I sense, I'm not so sure. I sense fear, fear that you'll lose and you and your friends will pay most dearly!" kaiba man shouted.

"Look, if you're too scared, I'll duel." Chazz told Jaden, but Jaden didn't answer.

"Not backing down?" Kaiba man asked. "Well, then you can forward to facing this card." He said, holding up one of the legendary blue eyes white dragon cards.

Kuronu's eye twitched. "That card is fake, fake I tell you!" She shouted. Everyone looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Chazz asked. "It's right there, how can it be fake?"

"It just is." Kuronu said, crossing her arms.

"What wrong Jaden, you look as though you've just seen a ghost." Kaiba said, smirking.

"Try a night mare, but I won't back down!" She said, holding his duel disk up.

"Your funeral." Kaiba man said, shrugging.

"Let's duel!" The two duelists shouted.

Kuronu gulped. _"I've got a bad feeling about this. That guy sounds exactly like my dad, and he's got one of his blue eyes, but that's not possible, unless more of the cards were made without my knowing."_

"Alright, I'll start things off." Jaden said, drawing his cards. "First I'll summon elemental here bubble man, in attack mode!" (800 atk) "Oh and when bubble man's summoned out by himself, his special ability lets me draw two cards from my deck, pretty sweat huh? Especially because I drew the equip card, bubble blaster! This gives bubble man an extra 800 attack points!"

(bubble man:1600 atk)

"And I'll call it a turn." Jaden said.

"My move!" Kaiba man said, drawing his card. "I summon my self, kaiba man!"

Kuronu shuddered. "That's just creepy."

"Why?" Syrus asked.

"I don't know, it just is." She said folding her arms across her chest.

(kaiba man: 200 atk) "And now I'll sacrifice him to bring out, the one, the only, Blue Eyes, White Dragon!" A huge wind storm blew up as the white dragon appeared on the field. "Feast your eyes on the beast that feast on your souls!" Kaiba man shouted.

Kuronu sweat dropped. "Now that was just lame."

"This is gonna be a very short duel." Chazz commented. Jaden gulped.

"On our souls?"

(Blue eyes: 300/2500) "Now blue eyes, attack Bubble man!" The dragon roared as it let out a white lightning attack.

"Hold it; since bubble blaster is out, it takes a hit for bubble man." Jaden said, shielding his eyes from the bright light.

"Shiny light, shiny light, shiny light, shiny light." Kuronu said, staring at the burst of blue lightning. Chazz rolled his eyes.

Jaden gritted his teeth as his monsters attack points went back to 800. "Ok, my turn!"  
Jaden said, drawing a card. He smirked as he looked down at polymerization. "Ok, now I'll fuse bubble man and clay man together to form, mud ball man, in defense mode!"

(mudball man:3000 def)

"Take that!" Jaden shouted, ending his turn.

"Now I'll take!" Kaiba shouted back, drawing his card. "I activate pot of greed, it allows me to draw two cards."

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "Well duh, that card's been around for like, who knows how long."

"Would you stop yakking?" Chazz yelled.

"I activate the spell card, verse stream of destruction!" Kaiba man shouted.

"Not good." Kuronu said bighting her finger nails.

"I can only use this card when I have blue eyes out on the field, but sense he is, I can now use it to destroy all of your monsters." Kaiba man said, smirking evilly. "Go; obliterate mud ball man with verse stream of destruction!"

The card activated, and a ball of white lightning shot from the card and destroyed mud ball man.

"Oh no, now Jaden is wide open, and when blue eyes attacks, it'll be all over." Syrus said.

"Read the fine print." Chazz said.

"Yah, blues eyes can't attack when verse stream of destruction is used." Kuronu said. Chazz glared at her.

"Hey, I was gonna say that." Chazz shouted. Kuronu stuck her tongue out at him.

"That won't matter." Kaiba man said. "I summon Manchu of the 10,000 hands (1400 atk) and now he'll lend me a hand, see when he's summoned, I'm aloud to pick a ritual monster or spell card from my deck and into my hand, but it wont stay there for long, because I'm playing! Go, white dragon ritual! Now I sacrifice Manchu to summon paladin of white dragon!" (1900 atk)

The white dragon appeared on the field, though it was no where near as big as the blue eyes. "Now paladin attack, ionic spear burst!" The dragon swooped down and attacked Jaden's life points directly.

(kaiba man:4000 lp) (Jaden: 2100 lp)

"And I'm not done yet," Kaiba man said. "By sacrificing Paladin, I can summon another monster from my hand or deck, and it's one you've already met, care to guess which one?"

"Actually no." Jaden said, trying to stand up straight.

"Well then, I'll give you a hint, it has blue eyes, white scales, the bluie eyes white dragon!" on cue, a second blue eyes emerged from kaiba man's hand and onto the field.

"One blue eyes was bad enough, but now Jays gotta fight two, oh man." Syrus said, very worried about his friend.

"Looks like that card created by kaiba is a chip off the old block," Chazz said. "Jaden had just better hope that that deck isn't an exact copy of Kaiba's, or he's real trouble.

"It's your move." Kaiba man said, smirking.

"About time." Jaden said as he drew his card. "Now, first I'll play monster reincarnation!"

"Awsome." Kuronu said.

"Yah, totally, by sacrificing one card in Jaden's hand, he can bring back a monster from the grave yard." Chumley explained.

"Yep." Kuronu agreed. "But he still has no chance of winning." Everyone fell over anime style, 'cept kaiba man of course.

"Thanks K, anyways, goodbye elemental hero necro shade, and hello clay man." Jaden alleged. "But I'm not done, even though I'm happy to have clay man back on my field, I'm even happier to have necro shade in my grave yard because when necro shade goes to the graveyard, I can summon a high level monster with out a sacrifice, and I choose, elemental here blade edge!"(2600 atk)

"And next I'll play, the field spell card, sky scraper!" Jaden placed the card in his field spell card zone, and immediately, sky scrapers appeared all over the field. "With this out, if blade edge takes on a stronger monster, he gains 1000 extra attack points! (Blade edge: 3600 atk) Now, blade edge, attack blue eyes!"

The gold monster flew up and sliced the dragon, thus, destroying it. Kaiba man gritted his teeth as his life points fell. (Km: 3400 lp) (Jaden: 2100 lp)

"Wow, He actually did." Chazz said, rather impressed.

"Next I'll throw down a face down and end my turn." Jaden as he placed his card face down. "And to think, I was worried I'd loose."

"Is that so?" Kaiba man asked.

"For sure, I'm totally over my fear. See, the trick is to take what you're afraid of, and not let it happen." Jaden explained.

"Not let it happen, anything can happen." Kaiba man told him. "Do you really think that by beating one blue eye you've won this duel? That you've avoided that defeat you fear? I think not. You're a long way from winning this contest, and blue eyes is a long way from being beat."

"I don't believe you!" Jaden shouted.

Kuronu smacked her forehead. "Some thing sappy is about to be said, I can feel it." She said. Chazz raised an eye brow.

"It's true, like it or not." Kaiba man told him. "You and you're friends fate still hangs in the balance. You have to except that and face it head on!"

Jaden blinked. "What is this?" He asked.

"This how a true duelist lives, not afraid of the thought of defeat, but always prepared to except it, this is the nature of dueling, and it is high time that you learn it." Kaiba man said, holding up a card.

Once again, Kuronu's jaw dropped like a rock. "This is coming from a card that was created by my- I mean, by Seto Kaiba!" Chazz looked at her strangly.

"I play silent doom, with it, I can bring back a blue eyes from the grave yard, then I activate polymerization to fuse my 3 beasts together!" Kaiba announced.

"Uh-oh," Jaden said.

"It's the same." Chazz said. "Kaiba man's deck is exactly the same as Seto Kaibas'."

"But that's not possible!" Kuronu shouted, beginning to have a nervous break down. "There are only three blue eyes in the whole world, and I know that those aren't them! They must be fake!" Chazz rolled his eyes, AGAIN!

"Now I can summon, the all powerful, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba man shouted. Everyone gasped as the two blue eyes on the field and the one in his hand swirled together, to create an enormous three headed blue dragon. The magnificent dragon roared, showing its huge teeth.

"Behold, the most powerful and devastating monster of them all!" Kaiba man shouted. Everyone stared in awe at the magnificent creature.

"I love dragons." Kuronu said, eyes sparkling.

Kaiba man smirked, and stretched out his hand. "Now go blue eyes ultimate dragon, attack with neutron blast!" The dragon opened its three mouths as a bright light formed in each of the heads jaws.

"Go trap card," Jaden shouted, activating the trap card on his field. "Edge hammer!" He shouted. "Now by sacrificing Blade edge, I can destroy one your monsters, and then you take damage equal to that monsters attack points." Jaden announced proudly.

The dragon roared, shooting its lightning attack and blade edge. Blade edge flew toward the dragon, ready to destroy it. "You said I should accept defeat?" Jaden asked "Well I don't think so." He said, clearly confident that he would win this duel.

Syrus shot his hand up in the air. "Yah, Jaden's gonna win this." He said. Kuronu bit her lip.

"Don't count on it." She said. The group watching the duel looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Chumley asked. "Jaden's totally gonna win this.

"Listen, I know Seto Kaiba's deck inside out, so if Kaiba man's deck is really just like the real Seto Kaiba, then he has a card that can stop Jaden."

The blue dragon exploded. Everyone had to shield their eyes to keep dust and dirt from getting in. "Looks like you were wrong Kuronu." Syrus said excitedly.

Kuronu scowled, not even bothering to shield her eyes, instead embraced the dirt. "Think again." She muttered.

Kaiba man smirked as the dust cleared. "If you won't accept defeat, then I'll force it on you." He said, holding up a card.

"I knew it." Kuronu muttered.

"Defusion?" Jaden asked.

Kaiba man's smirk broadened. "That's right, it reverted ultimate dragon back to it's pre fusion form, so sense edge hammer's target was no longer there, it swung and missed," He explained. Jaden gasped eyes wide with fear. "something that my blue eyes will not be doing." Kaiba man said, raising his arm in the air. "Go my blue eyes, attack with white lightning!"

The three dragons all shot their powerful lightning attacks at Jaden, who could do nothing to stop them. The attacks hit Jaden dead on, causing an explosion. Kaiba man laughed the same maniac Kaiba laugh as Jaden's life points dropped to zero. The sky scrapers disappeared and as the dust cleared, everyone saw Jaden lying on the ground.

Jaden awoke to the sound of winged kuriboh. He immediately sat up. "Syrus, Chumley, Kuronu?" He asked, looking around. Chumley and Syrus were sitting by the spirits, laughing a little, Chazz was scowling as usual, wanting nothing to do with the spirits that annoyed him so, and Kuronu was standing behind Kaiba man, arms crossed and looking at him suspiciously. Jaden clutched his chest, pain welling through him as Kaiba man walked over to him.

"Defeat is nothing to be scared of." He told the slifer. Instantly, Kuronu's jaw dropped. "What matters is if you can get up after."

Jaden stood up. "Wait, are you telling me that this entire duel was to teach me that?" He asked.

"Tell me, are you afraid now?" Kaiba man asked.

"Actually," Jaden began. "No, I'm really not."

"And do you know why? Because you faced it, you lost and you're ok."

"Yah, I am." Jaden said, realizing that Kaiba man was right.

"Jaden!" Syrus, Chumley, and Chazz called as they ran over. Well, actually only Syrus and Chumley called, Chazz just ran over.

Kuronu, was still completely shocked that Kaiba man was the one who gave the little speech shouted, "I cannot believe that a card created by my d- I mean, Seto Kaiba would say THAT! It's unheard of, it's insane, and it's weird!" She said, walking back and forth in a line, throwing her hands in the air.

Everyone blinked. "Ok….." Chazz said.

"Yah…." Jaden agreed. 'But hey, I think I'm finally over my bad dream." He said excitedly. Chazz crossed his arms.

"Well I'm over this place; can we please get out of this weird spirit place?" He asked. "It's low rent." Kuronu, who finally stopped ranting and had come over to the others sweat dropped.

"Oh brother." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Uh Kaiba man," Jaden asked. "Think you could help us get out of here?" He asked, scratching his cheek. Everyone gasped and looked around when they saw that he was gone.

"Where'd the weird guy with the totally fake deck go?" Kuronu asked.

"If you're looking for help," Kaiba man said as he walked deeper into the cave. "Ask your friend kuriboh, after all, he's the one who brought you down here." He told them.

Jaden looked as kuriboh. "Really kuriboh, just close our eyes and wish for it?" He asked.

"What is this, the wizard of oz?" Kuronu asked.

But everyone closed their eyes tight none the less. "I really wanna go back home." Syrus said. A huge geyser type thing shot up from the ground and shot everyone towards the surface.

When Jaden opened his eyes, he and everyone else were on a little island in the wading pool. Kuronu was the next one to wake up. She rubbed her eyes, and then looked around. "Eek!" She cried when she saw that they were all back - for the boys- in nothing but towels. She quickly jumped into the water, only to find that her ankle still needed some more time to heal. The girl sank under water, muttering, "I hate my life."

As they walked back to their dorms, Jaden said, "Hey Sy, I still got your towel!"

"What?" Syrus asked. "Give it-ow!" He said as Jaden whacked him with it.

Kuronu sighed. "Boys." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh yah, Kuronu," Jaden said, walking back to where she was. "You know how you offered that we could all go to your house for Christmas vacation, I except." He told her.

Kuronu's face paled. She had totally forgotten about that. "Huh?" Syrus asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Kuronu invited us all to her house for Christmas break, isn't that cool?" Jaden explained.

"Awesome, count me in." Syrus said.

"Me too." Chumley agreed.

"And I beat all the others will wanna go to." Jaden said.

Kuronu forced herself to smile. "Cool." She said. _"Great, now all I gotta do is tell them that I'm really a kaiba, easy right? Right? Some one answer me! Oh wait, no one's here in my head except the voices in my head, and they do not help at all."_ Kuronu thought to herself.

**Kaiba corp.**

Seto Kaiba sat at his desk, working on all his little computery stuff, when his wife burst into his office.

"Seto!" She wailed. Seto immediately looked up at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "Did Haru and Hiro burn down the house again like they did thirteen years ago?" He asked. His wife quickly shook her head, her brown hair flying across her face. "Good, because I've been living in fear of reliving that moment for years." He said. " Did Haru or Hiro blow up the kitchen again?" He asked, remembering all those horrible times that the enormous Kaiba manor kitchen had been totally demolished, all because of his two idiotic sons. Again, his wife shook her head no. "Then what, Meisha, happened? Did Haru and Hiro hack into my computer system again?"

No answer. "Well, actually, they did." She said, blue eyes glancing at everything except her anger challenged husband.

"I'm gonna kill those two." Seto said.

"But that's not the problem!" Meisha shouted. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"Then what is?" He asked.

"Kuronu still won't answer her phone!" She cried.

"So?" Seto asked. "She probably totally forgot she even had a cell phone."

"But what if she's been hurt?" She asked.

"If she has, Shepard would have called." He answered.

"But, but…..Can't you like, go-"

"No." Seto answered before his wife could even finish her request. Meisha glared at him.

"Are you telling me that you don't care about your only daughter?" Meisha asked.

Seto looked at her. "What do you mean, 'only daughter'? Are you telling me that you forgot about Mallory, your oldest child?" He asked. Meisha's face paled.

"Of course I didn't forget about her, I just didn't remember her." Meisha explained.

Seto stared at her for a moment, and then began to bang his head on the desk. Meisha ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, nearly choking him. "Oh please Seto, I'd feel so much better if you went and made sure she was unharmed." Seto groaned.

"Fine, just let go of me!" He shouted. Meisha let go and sat herself on the corner of his desk, looking into his light blue eyes with her own. Seto stood up and adjusted his trench coat. "If it'll make you feel better." He said.

"It would." She replied standing up and wrapping her arm around his. Seto sighed.

"I'll go tomorrow." He said. Meisha smiled and kissed him on the lips.

"Thank you." She said as she walked towards the door. "Don't stay to late, ok." Seto sat back down and nodded, which was not a satisfying answer to Meisha. Seto looked up at her and smiled.

"I won't be home late." Meisha continued to glare at him. "Promise." He said. Meisha smiled and exited the room. Seto sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had to admit he was curious of what Kuronu was up to. He wondered how she was dealing with all attention she was getting because she was a Kaiba. Well, he would see tomorrow.

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Authoresses note: I'm finally done! Praise the Lord! Ok, yah, long chapter, yes I know. I'll try really hard to update soon, but it might take another week or two, sorry guys. Um, 5 reviews should do it, oh yah, as you may have noticed, Meisha is my oc, along with Haru and Hiro(obviously) you'll hear more about them later, ok guys, later. Keep the reviews, no flames, constructive criticism welcome, just please be nice. Sorry if there are any typos and hope to get the chapter up soon, sorry this one was probably so boring, and long. Byes.


	12. midnight conversation

Authoresses note: Hey every one, thanks for reviewing, you guys rock. Um, can't think of anything much to say except for a little note warning thing. Kuronu is gonna be acting pretty different in the next few chapters, so no one review saying that her attitude is unrealistic and stuff, cuz someone did. I'm not mad at them, and they do kinda, sorta, hardly have a point, but her mood swing thing is part of my plot…kinda. Ok, so here's the chapter.

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Chapter 12:

Kuronu stared into the darkness that filled her dorm room. Her first night back in the room since her accident, and she wasn't enjoying it one bit. Last night, Jaden had gone around and told everyone that Kuronu had invited to her house for Christmas vacation that they were invited, which wasn't a bad thing, except for the fact that now she defiantly had to tell them about who she really was, the daughter of a billionaire. Kuronu had barely said anything to anyone for the rest of the night. She was starting to get the feeling that her cold attitude was starting to annoy everyone, especially Chazz, though everything that she did annoyed him, so there was nothing strange there.

Kuronu picked up her PDA that she had left on the floor and opened it. '3:00 am' it read. Kuronu sighed. She was completely exhausted, but she still couldn't fall asleep. Kuronu stared at the bunk bed on the other side of the room. On the top, Chumley snored, and quite loudly too. Below him was Syrus, sleeping so quietly, you'd think he was dead. And below him, was Jaden, muttering in his sleep about duel monsters, and here there something about doughnuts. Kuronu smirked. She wasn't sure if she was glad to be back in the same room as them, or disappointed. The girl rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

_How in the world am I going to tell them?_ she asked herself. Kuronu finally decided to go out side. Maybe that would give her an idea. Kuronu quietly crawled out of the warm blankets and slipped on her slippers. She slowly opened the door, careful not to let too much of the cold night air into the room. Once out side, she quietly closed the door and tip toed off the deck. Once she was away from the dorm, she rubbed her arms, trying to warm them. The vast wind blew her hair, blowing it all over. She finally grabbed a ribbon that –for some strange reason- she had in her pocket, and tied her hair up in a pony tail.

She quickly ran down to the light house and let out a sigh, then crossed her arms leaned against the pillar. _What have I gotten myself into?_ She asked herself. She stared out into the ocean, watching the waves. Maybe she should just tell them that her parents said her friends couldn't come, and just go home by her self and spend Christmas alone with her family. _More like totally alone._ She told herself. She thought a bunch of different ideas, most of which just ways to get the others not to come, but none of them seemed to work. _I guess _the_ only thing I can do is just tell them, the question is, how?_ Kuronu sighed, when she heard foot steps walking towards her. Without turning her head, she glanced to her right, and was shocked to see Zane standing there.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I should be asking you the same question." He replied. The obelisk silently walked over to Kuronu. "Trouble sleeping?" He asked. Kuronu nodded.

"I have to figure out how to tell the others that I'm a Kaiba." She told him.

"Why not just go up and tell them?" Zane asked. Kuronu snorted.

"Oh, yah, I'm just gonna go up and say, 'Hey guys, I lied to you, I'm not really an Ishahara, I made that name up, no, instead I'm a Kaiba, yes, my dad is Seto Kaiba, and yah, I'm stinking rich! Yay me!'" she said, throwing her arms up in the air. Zane stared at her.

"Good point." He said. "You don't like being rich?" He asked. Kuronu shrugged.

"Don't get me wrong, its fun to be able to buy whatever you want; it's just, it gets annoying though. There are tons of people out there who'd do anything to get my families money, including try to kid nap me, so where ever I go I have to have body guards, even here my dad ordered for extra security, even though we're out on an island in the middle of the ocean." She explained. "I guess I just want to have a normal life. Normal parents, a normal family, and a normal house- not some mansion with so many rooms that most of them don't even have a purpose- you get what I'm saying?"

Zane smirked. "Yah, I think so." He replied. "You don't consider you parents or family normal?" He asked. Kuronu couldn't help but laugh.

"No way, my family is so not normal. I mean, my dad is kinda normal, was more normal then my mom anyways. For example, my mom is a twelfth degree black belt in karate, so naturally my other siblings and I know how to fight, which is cool. Anyways, look at Mallory. She's way weird. Growing up, she always had that attitude, like my dad's, but after she graduated, something weird happened and she went all gothic, it was so weird. So now she totally hates duel academy and everything else." Kuronu explained. "And my brothers," Somewhere in the back of her mind, something clicked. "I just realized something." She said. Zane smirked. "My brothers just graduated from duel academy last year. You knew them didn't you?" She asked, looking at Zane.

Zane's smile broadened. "Out of your whole family, I think your brothers are the strangest." He said. Kuronu shook her head.

"That's why you seemed slightly familiar when I first met you, in fact, that's how I know about Atticus, when you were a first year, Haru and Hiro were second years and Atticus was a third year, and together, you four made Crowler's life miserable, well, at least my brothers and Atticus did, you just hung with them, you didn't actually do anything." Kuronu stated. Zane nodded.

"Yep, your brothers and Atticus did some pretty crazy things here." Zane said. Kuronu sighed.

"Ok," she began. "Back to the topic of how the heck I'm gonna tell the others that I'm a Kaiba." For a few minuets, the just stood there, not saying anything. Kuronu finally fell to the ground and hugged her knees up against her chest. Zane sat down next to her. "This is hopeless." She whispered. "I know I'm totally over exaggerating this, but I can't help it, it's just a really big deal to me." She said. Zane smiled. He placed his hand on the side of Kuronu's head and tilted it onto his shoulder.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "Everything is going to turn out fine, I promise."

Kuronu didn't know what to say. Her cheeks turned a bright red, her heart was pounding. Before she could speak, and yawn escaped from her mouth, her eye lids drooped, she had to force herself to stay awake. "I think it's time for bed." Zane announced. Kuronu slowly nodded. As Zane stood up, he took Kuronu's hand and helped her to her feet. The girl smiled.

"Thank you." She said quietly. Zane nodded. Kuronu slowly walked past him and returned to her dorm. On the way back, something a cured to her, her crush on Zane was no longer just a crush, but a true love. Every moment she spent with him seemed so precious; she didn't want to leave him. Kuronu opened the door to her dorm room and was glad to see everyone was still asleep. She crawled back under her covers and instantly went to sleep.

The next morning, when Kuronu woke up, she felt even more miserable then the night before. She was tired, and not in the mood for games. "So," Jaden asked on the way to their classes. "What do you want to do today?" he asked Kuronu. The girl shrugged.

"Sit in a dark corner by myself." She replied. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley stared at her.

"Ok….." Jaden said.

"Are you ok Kuronu?" Syrus asked. "You've been acting kinda weird for the past few days."

"No, I'm not ok." She answered and walked past them. _Oh yah, acting like a jerk to them is going to solve everything._ She said to her self. _Ok, I just need some food, maybe a nap during class, and everything will be fine._ She told herself as she walked past several obelisks.

Jaden blinked. "I wonder what's wrong." Jaden wondered. "Kuronu never acts this way."

"Maybe something happened in her family." Chumley suggested.

"Maybe," Jaden said. "But I think it's something else."

"Like what?" Syrus asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Jaden said as he began to run after his room mate. _What could possibly be bugging her?_ He asked himself. As he reached out to grab the girl's shoulder, she spun around so fast he didn't even see it. She grabbed his wrist and twisted, not to the point of it breaking or anything, but it still hurt.

"Sorry Jaden, but I just don't feel like talking right now. Maybe I'll feel better after a nap and some food. I didn't get much sleep last night, and I'm totally starving." She told him. Jaden stared at her as she released him of her grasp. He massaged his wrist as she walked away.

"What in the world?" Bastion asked as he, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz, and Alexis ran up to Jaden.

"What was that about?" Alexis asked. Jaden shrugged.

"I don't know, but who knew that Kuronu had such good reflexes?" Jaden said in amazement.

Throughout Crowler and Banner's class Kuronu slept. _At least she decided to sit with us, so that proves that she's not mad at us._ Jaden thought as he watched the girl sleep next to him. As Banner finished his lesson, a bell rang, indicating that it was lunch time. Kuronu sat up, startled by the sound. She looked over at Jaden and guilt rushed through her body.

"I'm sorry I was so harsh this morning." She said to him as she gathered up her things. "Just because I'm tired and hungry gives me no excuse to be cruel." Jaden smiled.

"Hey, don't worry about it;" Jaden said. "I'm just glad that you're not mad at us or anything, though I am confused. Something is clearly bugging you and I kind of want to know what." Kuronu looked at the floor.

"Maybe later, I just want to get some food." She told him, and walked away before he could say any more. Once in the hall, Kuronu let out a long sigh. Her attitude was getting worse by the minuet; she needed to tell someone about her family before she exploded. She was about to start running around the school aimlessly- now that she could because her ankle had fully healed- when she heard someone call out to her. She turned around and saw Zane walking toward her.

"Hi Zane," She said as he walked up to her.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. Kuronu didn't reply for several minuets.

"I need to tell the others, and soon, before I totally lose my mind. I've never really kept a secret from anyone, especially not one like this, and never for this long. Usually when I do have a secret, I snap with in the first day and tell everyone I was keeping it from." She blurted out.

"Ah, so that's it," Zane said as he and Kuronu walked down the hall. "The pressure is getting to you." Kuronu nodded.

"I feel like such a horrible friend for keeping this type of secret from them. I should have just told them the first day. It feels like a lie that just keeps building up, and when it falls it's going to hurt everyone around me." She murmured so that only Zane could hear.

"Don't worry," he told her. "You'll know the right moment to tell them when it comes. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some homework to do." Kuronu nodded as the obelisk walked away. She felt like Zane was the only person she could talk to now. After Kuronu got a quick bite to eat, she headed back for to her dorm, when she heard some slifers talking.

"Did you hear?" The one said. "Seto Kaiba is at the school." Kuronu froze. She grabbed the slifer by the color and looked him in the eye.

"What. Did. You. Say?" She asked. She began to shake him. "Answer me!" She shouted.

"Um, Seto Kaiba, he's here at the school, please don't hurt me." He answered. Kuronu dropped him, then began to pace.

"Not good, not good, not good!" She muttered.

"Hey," the slifer shouted. "There he is!" Kuronu whirled around and saw him. Her father walking with Chancellor Shepard, a crowd of people trying to get his autograph, but he totally ignored them.

Kuronu's jaw dropped, she dashed behind a statue to make sure that no one saw her. Her father was wearing his normal black pants and black shirt with the white trench coat. He was at least a head taller than Shepard. As the two men walked by, she heard Shepard say, "Don't worry Mr. Kaiba, we'll find her."

Kuronu gaped. _They're looking for me!_ She shouted inside her head. Suddenly, a thought a cured to her. _Wait, my dad came all the way to duel academy just to see me?_ Kuronu poked her head out from behind the statue and watched her father walk away; a small smile appeared on her face. _I've gotta hide._ She told herself.

Zane sat under a tree as he did his home work. It was pretty much always warm on the island. He glanced up and saw something that he thought he would never see. Seto Kaiba. He gasped. _Kuronu,_ He thought to himself.

"Oh look," Shepard said. "There's Zane, Kuronu hangs out with him a lot." He explained. Kaiba scratched his chin.

"Zane Truesdale huh? He's the schools top student, right?" Kaiba asked. Shepard nodded. The chancellor was full aware that Seto Kaiba didn't know that his daughter had given herself a new name, but he had choice but to help his employer to find the young girl. Zane stood up as the two men approached him.

"Hello Zane," Shepard said cheerfully. "You wouldn't happen to know where Kuronu was, would you." Zane didn't know what to say. He was about to reply when he saw Kuronu sneaking towards the row of statues. Kaiba turned around to see what he was looking at. Kuronu dove behind the statue just in time.

"Uh, no, sorry." He answered. "Try the cafeteria though; last I saw she went to get lunch." Kaiba nodded and said, "Maybe we should call her on the loud speakers, she always hated it when I did that to her whenever she would get lost, something about it embarrassing her." Shepard smiled as Kaiba turned to leave. Once they were gone, Zane ran to the statue that the slifer girl was hiding behind.

"Zane," She cried as she stood up. "My dad's here!" Zane nodded.

"Yah, he's looking for you." He told her. "He said something about calling you on the loud speakers." Kuronu kicked the dirt.

"Man," she said. "I hate it when he does that, it always embarrasses me." Zane smirked. "Plus, he'll call me by my last name, telling everyone who I really am, I mean I was going to everyone, but I don't want them to find out that way." Kuronu sighed. She squatted and held her stomach tightly. "Why does my life have to be so complicated?" Zane knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I have an idea." He said calmly. Kuronu looked at him, a look of hope in her eyes. "You don't want him to know you're a slifer, do you?" Kuronu nodded. "Well, then I was thinking that you could put on one of the extra obelisk girl's uniforms." Kuronu smiled.

"That's an awesome idea!" She said as she stood up. "Ok, let's go." Zane quickly grabbed her arm before she could run off.

"Hold on, we still have to be careful if you don't want your dad to see you."

"Ooooohhh, got it." She whispered.

Zane raised an eyebrow. "Talk about mood swings, well, more like a whole 360 on her attitude." Zane muttered as he ran after the girl. The two carefully crept to the room where the school held the extra uniforms. Once there, Kuronu picked out one that fit and went into another room to change.

"What do you think?" She asked as she came out of the room. Zane scratched his chin.

"I think you look better in red." He informed her.

"Ok, to the office," Kuronu shouted. "Before my dad calls me on the loud speakers.

**Shepard's office**

Seto reached out for the microphone, when the door suddenly slid open.

"Put that microphone down!" Kuronu shouted, pointing a finger and her dad. Shepard and Seto blinked.

"I didn't even pick it up." Seto said.

"Oh, well, don't pick it up!" Kuronu shouted. Her father blinked again.

"This is an odd way of finding you, but at least I did." Seto walked over to Kuronu and smiled down at her. "But you still shouldn't yell at me like that!"

"What are you doing here?" She shouted, ignoring what her father had just said.

"I came to see if you were ok." He answered. Kuronu blinked.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" She asked.

"You didn't answer your cell phone when we called, nor did you call us." Her dad told her. Kuronu blinked.

"My cell phone?" she asked thoughtfully.

_Flash back._

"_Hey!" Kuronu shouted as Crowler took her cell phone._

"_You wont be needing this now sense you're a slifer." He said mockingly._

"_But I need it!" Kuronu cried, falling to her knees and grabbing hold of the professor's leg._

"_Get off me!" he shouted, trying to kick her off. "You can't have it back."_

"_Give back!" Kuronu shouted as she stood up and tackled him._

"_Aww! Someone help! A vicious monster is attacking me!"_

"_Vicious? I'll show you vicious!" Kuronu as Kuronu wrenched the phone from the man's hand, it cracked. "No!"_

End flash back.

Kuronu blinked again. "Oh yah, I forgot, it broke and I forgot to ask for a new one." She lied.

"I figured it was something like that." Her dad said, slightly smiling.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked angrily.

"Well," her father began. "You are a bit klutzy," he said. One of those little anger points appeared on Kuronu's forehead. "Ok, really klutzy." Seto corrected himself. Kuronu gritted her teeth.

"Klutzy?" She muttered. Her dad put his arm around her.

"Face it Kronu, you're a klutz." Kuronu fell over. "Now here's your new cell phone, just make sure you don't break this one too."

"Thanks ever so." Kuronu said as she took the phone.

"Oh yah, one more thing,"

"What?" Kuronu asked. _What more can there be?_

"Your mother wants to know if you'd like to come home early." He asked. Kuronu's face paled.

"Uh, well, about that, see, I was wandering if, um, you know I could have some friends over maybe?" Kuronu asked. Seto frowned.

"How many?" He asked.

Kuronu looked up at the ceiling. "Lets see," She said. "Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz," She muttered as she counted off her fingers. "Nine." She concluded. _And only three are girls._

Seto folded his arms and closed his eyes. "I don't really have a problem with it, just make sure you call your mother and ask her." He said. Kuronu smiled.

"Oh thank you daddy!" She cried and wrapped her arms around his waist. Seto smiled.

"Yep, see you in a week." He said as he began to walk out the door.

"I'll escort you to your helicopter." Shepard said as he hurried past his employer.

Kuronu smiled at Zane who was standing in the door way. "It worked!" She shouted.

"Yah, now all you have to do is tell the others." Kuronu's face paled.

"Oh yah," She said glumly. "I keep forgetting about that." Zane smiled as he walked over to her.

"Don't worry, you'll figure something out." He reassured her. "I have another class to get to, so I'll see you later." He said as he ran out the door.

Kuronu sighed. She changed back into her uniform and walked down the many halls of the building. "I just have to tell, I mean, what am I afraid of?" She asked herself. _"That they'll reject you."_ A small voice in her head said. _"That they will no longer treat you as a normal person, but as the daughter of a rich CEO." _It continued. Kuronu shook her head. "No, that's not going to happen. Jaden is my friend, and he'll like me for who I am." She told herself. Kuronu closed her eyes and began to run as fast as she could. As she ran, she banged into someone.

"Ouch, sorry," She said as she rubbed her head. She looked up and saw an obelisk boy standing there, glaring down at her. He was probably a third year.

"Hey, watch where your going, you slifer slacker." He said and lightly shoved her. Kuronu gritted her teeth.

"You watch where your going, you snotty obelisk!" She shouted back.

"Hey, you're that slifer girl."

"Well duh," Kuronu said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm the only slifer girl, Einstein."

The obelisk glared at her. "You think you're better than me?" He asked. Kuronu smirked.

"Yah, I reckon I am." She answered.

"Than why don't you prove it, in a duel." He challenged. Kuronu's smirk widened.

"You're on!"

"Fine, meet me in the duel arena in twenty minuets." He said. As he walked away, he shoved Kuronu. Kuronu glared at his back. She rolled her hands into fists and a began to mutter threats and slight curses under her breath.

"He shall pay." She muttered

Jaden sighed as he, Syrus, and Chumley looked around. "I wonder where Kuronu is." He asked.

"There she is!" Syrus exclaimed. "I wonder what's wrong; she looks kind of up set."

"Let's go find out." Chumley said.

"Ah, Kuronu," Jaden said as he extended a hand towards the girl's shoulder. Kuronu whirled around; Jaden quickly pulled his hand back in case she tried to twist it again.

"Jaden," She shouted.

"I didn't do it!" He cried.

"Go get my deck!"

"I didn't, huh?" He asked, looking up at her. Syrus and Chumley were just as confused.

"Go my deck." She repeated.

"Why?" Jaden asked.

"Because," Kuronu said softly, her lips curling into a smirk. "I'm duelin'" She shouted as she thrust her fist into the air. Jaden and co. blinked. Then, Jaden smiled.

"Sweet!" He shouted. "Finally, I'll get to duel you, but I'm warning you, I'm not going easy-"

"I'm not dueling you," Kuronu said. Jaden's smile quickly faded.

"You're not?" He asked. Kuronu shook her head no. "Than whom are you dueling?"

"I'm dueling," She shouted, throwing her fist into the air again. "I don't know." She said, letting her arm fall down to her side. Her roommates fell over. "But it's some snotty obelisk!" She growled.

"An obelisk," Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley all shouted in unison. "Kuronu," Jaden began. "Are you sure you can-"

"Yes!" Kuronu interrupted. "I know I can beat him. Now go get my deck, I'm to lazy to get it myself."

Jaden glared at her. "Fine," He said. He sniffed. "I wanted to be the first person you dueled here." He muttered. Kuronu smirked. "

"Oh yah, make sure you're back in twenty minuets, that's when the duel starts." Kuronu called to him." Jaden waved his hand, indicating he had heard. Kuronu sighed. _Well, my first duel here at the academy. Maybe this is a good way to tell them that I'm a kaiba._ She thought.

**Slifer dorms**

Jaden ran up the deck to the slifer dorms where he met Chazz. "What's the hurry, slacker?" Chazz asked.

"Kuronu's going to duel." Jaden answered excitedly. Chazz raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really, this I've gotta see." He said as he walked down the steps Kuronu smiled.

_Hope Kuronu doesn't mind having a little audience._ He said to himself. On the way to the dorms, he had met Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, and Bastion, all of whom he had told that Kuronu was going to duel, and of course they all wanted to watch. Jaden entered the room and picked up Kuronu's deck that sat upon the window sill. As he grabbed it, the cards slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. Jaden quickly fell to his knees and began to gather them up, careful not to see any of the cards. He was almost down, when he touched something that wasn't a card. He picked it up. It looked like a duel monsters card, but it was thicker, and when he flipped it over, there was no picture.

_Wonder what this is?_ He than noticed a small latch on the side. _It's a locket. _Jaden carefully opened it. As it opened, four cards- duel monster cards- slipped out and fell onto the floor. He carefully picked them up, and out of curiosity, flipped them over. When he saw them, Jaden gasped and threw the cards down. "What on earth," He muttered. He picked them up again. "It can't be," He whispered, un able to say the names of the cards. He then looked at the locket and his eyes widened as he saw the picture.

"It can't be," He whispered. "It's not possible," He was running out of things to say. He sat on the floor and stared at the picture for what seemed like hours, trying to think up some kind of explanation.

Kuronu tapped her foot impatiently. Her arms were folded across her chest and a large scowl across her face. Thirty minuets had passed since Jaden left, the obelisk she was supposed to duel had probably left, figuring that Kuronu was a coward. "That's it," Chazz said, breaking the silence. "I'm going to find him." That was what Kuronu should have done a while ago, but for some stupid reason, didn't. Chazz was about to set off when he saw Jaden.

"Where were you?" Alexis shouted. Jaden didn't answer.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do." Kuronu told him sternly.

"So do you." Jaden told her. Everyone was confused.

"What do you mean I have explaining to do? You-" Jaden held up the necklace he had found before she could continue. Kuronu's eyes widened. Her moth went dry and she could not think of anything to say, except to her self, _this is not how I wanted him to find out._

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Authoresses note: Ok guys, finally I finished. Ok, a lot of you are probably like, "What? Kuronu was supposed to duel, why didn't you make her duel the guy?" Well, two reasons.

I planned for her to duel Jaden first, that's one of those things I decided on when I started thinking up the story.

I wasn't prepared for her to duel yet. I thought up her deck, but I need a complete list, or close to complete list of Jaden's deck so that I can think out the duel properly.

So yah, sorry that I over exaggerated Kuronu's attitude and everything, it's how my mind works. I think of a problem that my character has, and over exaggerate my 10 times to the point of it being unrealistic, so again sorry. But do not worry; Kuronu should be back to her normal happy, rather dense self soon, once all the stress is gone. So please review, 5 reviews should do it, but I know that I'll get more cuz you guys are so awesome, you wanna know how awesome? Well, sometimes I'm just sitting on my bed, and I remember one of the reviews you guys sent me, and I just can't help but smile. I get this happy tingly feeling in my stomach, and I just feel happy and I feel like I just HAVE to write the next chapter to return the favor. Seriously, you guys are the whole reason I write this. Ok, anyways, no flames, flames are the reviews that make me feel sick, and I don't like to feel sick. Ok, got to go, byes.


	13. the secret's out

Authoresses note: ok, thanks for reviewing, you guys rock.

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Chapter 13: the secret's out.

"I think you have some explaining to do." Jaden said as he held up a duel monster card shaped locket. Kuronu chewed on the inside of her cheek for several moments.

"What is it Jaden?" Alexis asked, staring at the necklace.

_Ok,_ Kuronu said to herself. _My best bet would probably be to play dumb. _"You found it!" She cried. "Thanks Jaden, I've been looking everywhere for that. I should really get more organized." She said as she reached out to grab the necklace, but Jaden pulled it away.

"What gives Jaden?" Chazz asked. "If it's her necklace give it to her."

"What's going on?" A new voice asked. Everyone turned around to see Zane.

"Well," Syrus began as his big brother approached. "Kuronu was going to duel this guy, so she sent Jaden to get her deck,"

_Why do I have to be so darn lazy?_ Kuronu asked herself.

"But Jaden didn't come back for a while, so Kuronu missed her duel, but now he's back and he has some weird necklace card thing, that apparently is Kuronu's and she lost it, but Jaden wont give it back, and I'm just all around confused." The young boy explained. Zane looked at Kuronu, her face downcast, and then at Jaden, who then held up three cards. Kuronu froze.

Her heart began to beat so fast she was sure that it would explode. "What are those?" Syrus asked. Jaden flipped the cards around, everyone gasped. "The blue eyes white dragons!" Syrus explained.

"Where did you get them?" Bastion asked.

"Yah, Jay, where did you get them?" Kuronu asked._ Maybe acting oblivious will help a little bit._

"Your deck," Jaden explained. Kuronu forced herself to smile. Everyone stared at her, Jaden then flipped open the locket which had a picture inside it.

"Is that Seto Kaiba?" Chazz asked. In the picture was a tall man with brown hair that was getting rather long, obviously this was Seto Kaiba. He had his arm around a woman a few inches shorter than him who had long, light brown hair and dark blue eyes. Next to her was another man, slightly taller than the women, and he had most likely shoulder length black hair that he kept in a pony tail, he also had a gold earring on his right ear.

To the right of him, slightly in front of him, was a tall girl (young woman, whatever) with long black hair and red highlights, which Zane new to be Kuronu's older sister, Mallory. Next to her was a teenage boy who was kneeling on one knee. He had really spiky dark brown hair with hints of light brown in the spikes, and really neat bangs. His arm was around a girl- and because he was on his knees he looked much shorter than her-, Kuronu. Next to Kuronu was another boy, who had really neat light brown hair with really messy bangs that had tints of dark brown. Mallory and the two boys also had blue eyes.

Kuronu grabbed the necklace and placed it around her neck. "Who are they?" Syrus asked.

"They're my family." She said quietly. No one said anything, until Chazz broke the silence, saying: "But that was Seto Kaiba, your last name is-"

"Kaiba," Kuronu told him quietly.

"But, you said your last name was," Alexis began. "I'm so confused."

"I think I get it," Jaden said. Everyone looked at him.

"You do?" Syrus asked.

"Yah, Kuronu's parents obviously had a divorce and Kuronu went with her mom, and so her mom's maiden name was Ishahara and that's the name that she goes by." He explained. Kuronu gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fist. She waked Jaden over the head as hard as she could.

"No you moron!" She shouted. "My parents wouldn't split up in a hundred years!" She continued. She took several deep breaths, and then said: "Besides, my mom's maiden name is 'Blaze' not Ishahara." She explained.

"Then where'd Ishahara come from?" Jaden asked.

"I made it up, moron." Kuronu told him, crossing her arms. Everyone blinked except Zane because Zane is smart and already figured it out. (I'm not saying the others are stupid, just that Zane is smarter)

"Why would you make up your last name? Or is your first name really Kuronu?" Syrus asked suspiciously.

"No, my real name is Kuronu, but my last name," Kuronu looked around, and then motioned for the others to follow her. She walked over to a tree and sat down. The others sat down in front of her, well, Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, Bastion, Chazz, and Zane stood, so basically only Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley were sitting.

"Ok, my real name is Kuronu Kayasarin Kaiba. The people in the picture are my dad, next to my mom, who's next to my uncle Mokuba. In front of him is my sister, Mallory." She explained.

"You have a sister!" Everyone shouted, except Zane because he already knew.

Kuronu nodded. "Yah, and two brothers, Haru and Hiro, they just graduated from duel academy last year, Mall graduated three years ago." Alexis froze.

"I-I know those names, Haru and Hiro." She said quietly. Kuronu smiled.

"Yah, they went to school with your brother, actually, Mall went to school with your brother too. She graduated a year before him." Kuronu explained.

"My brother never mentioned that his friends were Kaiba's, and I've never even heard of 'Mallory.'" Alexis said.

"Really," Zane asked quite surprised. "From what I've heard, the two of them were pretty close." All the others looked at him.

"They were?" Kuronu asked, totally shocked that Mallory, her older, gothic sister could actually get close to someone.

"You knew?" Alexis shouted. Grabbing him by the collar and shaking him slightly.

"Um, yah," Zane told them, removing Alexis's hands from his collar.

"Why'd you tell him but not us?" Jaden asked, slightly hurt.

"Um, I didn't tell him. He figured it out on his own. It was only a few weeks ago that I found out that he knew, that's when my sister came to the school." Kuronu explained.

"Your sister came to the school?" Syrus asked. Kuronu nodded. "Where were we?"

"Um, you were on that little hike thing. Oh yah, Zane, you know the brief case that Mall gave me?" Zane nodded. "Well, the blue eyes' were in there, in case you're wondering."

Everyone stared at her. "I'm confused." Jaden said slowly. Kuronu sighed.

"What are you confused about?" She asked him.

"Why you changed your name." He told her. Kuronu glanced at the ground.

"Ok, I'll start from the beginning. I came late because I was in America with my mom for a few weeks- she goes there a lot to help my dad out with business and stuff- so when I got back, I had to go to duel academy. So, I was late for the entrance exam because of traffic, when I got there, Crowler was all mad at me, which confused me because usually when I go some where, the people treat me like a princess, and it drives me crazy!" She shouted, through her arms into the air. Everyone looked at her; she quickly put her hands in her lap and continued her story.

"Any ways, so yah, by the time the duel was over, I was pretty sure that this guy had no idea who I was because he kept calling me "Slacker," and "incompetent fool", and other stuff. He was so mad at me for beating him that he actually insisted that I, a girl, go in slifer, and because SOME PEOPLE, cough, Chazz, cough, wont share a room with some OTHER people, cough, Jaden, cough, because he's SOOOOO-"

"Ok, I get it!" Chazz shouted. Kuronu glared at him.

"Fine, just making sure, anyways, because Chazz is so freakin selfish and stuck up and rude," Chazz glared at her. "Any ways, I had to share a room with you guys, which is fun, but sorta, kinda, really wrong…but it's still fun. Anyways, on the way to the dorm, Crowler asked me what my name was. I figured that guys I'd be staying with would want nothing to with me and just leave me alone, but Nooooooooo, you guys HAD to be so nice and friendly." Jaden looked down at the dirt.

"I'm sorry," He said.

"Don't be, with out you, I would have died of boredom a LONG time ago." She told him. Jaden smiled. "Any who, so yah, I figured that this would be a good time to get treated like a normal person, even though it would have been fun to see him freak out if I told him I was a Kaiba, but I'd rather have a semi-normal life, than have Crowler totally freak out at treat me like a queen, which I totally hate! So, yah, that's basically it, I met you guys, life went on. I slipped and invited you guys all to my house for Christmas, pressure got to me, affected my attitude, and that basically brings us to present times." She concluded.

Everyone stared at her. No one said anything. "I understand if you guys don't want to be friends anymore, I mean-"

"Shut up already." Jaden said. Everyone stared at him.

"Jaden, you just," Syrus shouted at him, but Jaden ignored him.

"Look K, you're our friend, we've gone through a lot together, and I can tell you with complete certainty that even if I knew you were a Kaiba right when I first met you, I'd still want to be friends with you, because what does it matter if you're a Kaiba?" He told her.

"Well, for one, you're a HUGE Yugi Moto fan, I'm a Kaiba, and my dad was a total jerk to Yugi, for good reasons though."

Jaden glared at her after that last comment. "What did you say?" he asked.

"Nothing," Kuronu smiled at Jaden, with warning she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you Jaden," She whispered. "I don't know what I would've done with you." Mindy, Jasmine, and Alexis had to force themselves not to cry.

"I hate touching moments like this." Jasmine said.

"I know, aren't they great?" Mindy agreed. Alexis nodded.

"Hey, what about me," Syrus asked. "I still would've been your friend too." Kuronu smiled and also hugged him.

"That's why you were so moody?" Chazz asked, clearly not fazed about what had just happened.

"Yah," Kuronu admitted. "But I had a lot of stress on me!"

"You're pathetic," He said, rolling his eyes. Kuronu glared at him as he began to walk away.

"Well, you're um, you need a hair cut!" She retorted. Chazz raised an eyebrow.

"So do you," He told her.

"Why me?"

"Because your hair goes all the way down to your waist!"

"Well at least mine isn't overly spiky! It's worse than my brothers!"

"You need to learn how to handle pressure better!"

"You need anger management classes!"

"So do you!"

"You need it more!"

"You need to work out more, because you're fat!" Chazz shouted. Everyone gasped.

"Uh, Chazz," Alexis whispered to him. "Never, EVER tell a girl that she's fat."

"Why?" He asked. Jaden pointed a finger at Kuronu.

"That's why." He said Kuronu's hair was actually started to stand up a little bit. Her hands were clenched into fists, and the expression of sheer rage made casual passer bys to run for their lives.

"You are SO going to pay for that, you BAKA!" Kuronu shouted. She ran up to him and punched him the stomach so hard that he spit up blood. She then through him into the air and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back. As his back scraped against the side walk, his coat at shirt ripped, giving him nasty scratches on his back. Everyone gasped.

"How- how did you do that?" Syrus asked. Kuronu smirked.

"Very carefully," She told them. Chazz slowly got up and walked over to her. His whole body sore. He wiped the blood off the corner off his mouth with his thumb and asked:

"How- did- you- do- that?" Again, Kuronu smirked.

"My mom's a twelfth degree black belt in karate, she taught me everything she knows, and I'm only a second degree black belt though." She explained.

"But, you're still a black belt?" Jaden asked, totally horrified now. Kuronu smiled.

"Yep,"

Chazz looked as though he was going to try to attack the girl, but Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine grabbed his arms. 'Come on Chazz," Alexis said as the three girls dragged him away.

"You're going to the infirmary." Mindy told him.

"You'll pay for this Kaiba!" Chazz shouted back. "You'll pay!" A slifer boy looked at him and asked,

"What did you say?"

"See that girl over there," Chazz said pointing at Kuronu. "That's the daughter of Seto Kaiba." Everyone who had heard gasped. Kuronu glared at him.

"Chazz!" She shouted, running after him. Chazz screamed like a girl and ran away as Kuronu chased after him. Tons and tons of boys, mostly slifers, ran over to Jaden. It was common knowledge that Kuronu slept in the same dorm with the guy who won the school duel.

"She's a kaiba?" One boy asked.

"Hey Jaden, want to switch dorms with me?"

"Uh, I don't think she'd like that." Jaden said.

"Who cares if she doesn't like it?"

"Yah, just as long as she's cute." They said.

Alexis, who had walked back over to Jaden, frowned. "This is ridicules, they want her to like them, but they don't even care about what she wants or doesn't want." She said. Jaden nodded in agreement. Just then, Chazz ran past, followed by Kuronu.

"There she is!" An obelisk boy shouted. Kuronu froze, her twitched as all the boys stared at her.

"Wait for me!" She shouted after Chazz as she ran away, all the boys fallowing her. Chazz screamed again when he saw her. Chazz ran into his dorm room, and Kuronu into hers, locking the door. She slid down onto the floor and hugged her knees, her back against the door.

All the guys were shouting things like, "Princess," and other stuff that got on her nerves. Suddenly, the window slid opened and Jaden climbed through. "You ok?" He asked. Kuronu smiled when she saw him.

"Jaden,"

"Syrus and Chumley are outside trying to get everyone to leave, while Bastion, Zane, and the girls are trying to get everyone to get away from the building. I can defiantly see why you didn't tell anyone who you were." Jaden told her. Kuronu smiled weekly.

There was a loud knock on the door. "Hey, open up, they're all gone." Chumley said. Kuronu unlocked the door and allowed the two boys in.

"Thanks guys, you're the best." Kuronu told them.

"Ah, it was nothing." Syrus said, blushing.

"Yah, but we're going to have to find you a disguise." Jaden said. Kuronu nodded.

"Oh yah, I have good news." She said. "Well, my dad was here,"

"Your dad was here!" The three boys shouted. Kuronu nodded.

"Yah, well, he said that all you guys could come over for Christmas." She announced.

"Yes!" Jaden shouted, jumping up and down. "Hang on, you live in a mansion." Jaden suddenly realized. Kuronu smiled again.

"Yah," She said.

"Well, it makes sense now when you said you had plenty of extra bed rooms."

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Authoresses note: Ok, there you go, sorry it took so long to update, but I need to update mine and my sis's story and now my sis has her own story, so it's gonna be a bit harder to update, but I'll do my best. Um, 7 reviews would be nice, no flames, constructive criticism welcome, just please, PLEASE by nice.


	14. plans for Christmas

Authoresses note: Ok guys, wow it's been a long time, sorry. But thanks guys so much for reviewing, I'm really glad you like my story, I never thought that it'd get this far, so thanks. You guys give me something to look forward to. Ok, um, gonna do a disclaimer, just cuz I feel like it and I probably should, so go ahead Jaden.

Jaden: ………

Me: Please tell me you know what a disclaimer is.

Jaden: Of course I do….ok, um, oh, oh, I've got one! "Every body's got a water buffalo, yours is fast but mine is slow, oh where'd we get them I don't know, but every body's got a water buffaloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Took my buffalo to the store, got his head stuck in the door, spilled some lima beans on the floor, oh every body's got a- (bastion runs on stage)

Bastion: Stop it, stop it, stop right this instant. What do you think you're doing? You can't say ever body's got a water buffalo, because ever has not got a water buffalo. Creonix is going to nasty reviews saying, 'where's my water buffalo, why don't I have a water buffalo?' and is she prepared to deal with that? I don't think so,

Me: Hey!

Bastion: Just stop being so silly!

Zane: This has been silly songs with Jaden; tune in next time to hear Jaden say:

Jaden: Oh, every body's got a baby kangaroo, yours is pink, but mine is blue. Hers was small, but-

Bastion: AHHHHHHHHH!(Runs on stage and runs over Jaden)

Me: …………..WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?

Jaden: The disclaimer.

Me: That was NOT a disclaimer. Zane, you do the disclaimer since Jaden clearly can't handle a simple job like that.

Zane: Don't wanna.(Walks away)

Me…Fine, bastion,

Bastion: Sorry, got better things to do.

Me: Fine! I'll just have to do it my self.

Kuronu: I'll do it!

Me: You can't. I own you; someone whom I don't own has to do it.

Kuronu: Then why do you get to do it?

Me: …I suppose this makes sense.

Kuronu: What does?

Me: Only a character made by me would ask such a stupid question. Any who, I don't own yugioh gx, the characters, except the one's I made up, and I don't own veggie tales either (that's where the water buffalo song came from) Ok, on with the story.

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Chapter 14:

Kuronu pushed open the closet door and tripped as she tried to pull on her boots. Jaden, who was still in bed, looked at the almost fully dressed girl.

"Ah, Kuronu, what are you doing up so early?" He asked.

"I'm getting up and going to class early that way I can escape the mob of boys that will be standing out side my door, waiting for me." She explained. Jaden climbed out of bed and walked over to Kuronu and put his arm around her.

"Kuronu, I'm quite sure that there will be no mob of boys out side waiting for you. I mean, just because they chassed you from the main building, all the way down here yester day doesn't mean that they'll get up early just to mob you…I think." Jaden told her. Kuronu looked at the door, than at Jaden and smiled at him.

"You're right. I guess I'm just being a bit paranoid."

Jaden smiled at her. "Yep,"

"You weren't supposed to agree with me." Kuronu whispered to him, glaring at him.

"But I couldn't disagree because you were right, and-"

"Just forget about."

Syrus yawned and rolled over in his bed. "Hey guys, what time is it?" He asked sleepily. Kuronu looked at her PDA.

"7:45 AM." She told him. Syrus sat straight up.

"7:45! Oh my, we're going to be late, why didn't some one tell me how late it was?" The boy exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Jaden asked.

"Yah, it's so early." Kuronu said, yawning. "But come on, let's get breakfast." Kuronu opened the door, but in stead of seeing the ocean like she normally did when she went out side, she saw a sea of bright red blazers. She quickly slammed the door shut before anyone could say anything. "It's the fan boys!" She exclaimed in an over dramatic voice.

Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley all stared at her. "Ok…." Chumley said.

"What will I do, there's no way I can get there and live." She said.

"Kuronu, they're fan boys, not the marines. Just shove through the crowd, and then run for your life." Jaden told her. Kuronu shook her head.

"That won't work. I can't run very fast in a Minnie skirt and boots."

"Then you need a disguise!" Jaden shouted. He quickly pulled off his shirt and reached for his black one. Kuronu shrieked, covered her eyes, and crawled under the bed as fast as she could. "What's her problem?" He asked.

"Jaden," Syrus began. "You just took your shirt off in front of Kuronu, a girl." He explained. Jaden blinked, and then he got it. He pulled on his shirt and looked under the bed. Kuronu was huddled in a ball, eyes wide and shaking.

"That…was so…horrifying…make it go away, please make the nasty images go away…I promise I'll be good mommy…just make them go away!"

"Ok," Jaden said, standing up. "I'm not sure what's creepier, the mob of fan boys banging on our door, or her." He said, pointing to the bed. The three boys took this opportunity to get dressed, and then Jaden said, "Hey K, it's safe to come out now."

Kuronu poked her head out, looked around the room, the stood up and brushed the dirt of her skirt. "Well, that was interesting experience." She said.

"Yah, totally unlishis." Chumley commented.

"Ok, so here's the plan," Jaden started. 'Chumley and Syrus, you guys go out there and, I don't know, look like you're trying to like, hide her or something, that'll give Kuronu and I an opportunity to figure out a disguise." Syrus and Chumley nodded.

"Let's go Chumley." Syrus said, acting all cute a determined like. The two quickly ran out the door. Kuronu and Jaden could hear the mob shouting.

"How come I feel like I'm on the most wanted list and if I ever want to live a normal life, I have to disguise myself, change my name, and talk weird?" Kuronu asked.

Jaden shrugged. "Probably because you are the most wanted girl on the island right now by most boys, and you do have to disguise your self, change your name, and talk weird." He explained.

"Great,"

"Now, let's find you a disguise." Jaden stood up and began to look through the closet. "Let's see, no, no, that wont work, ah hah!" Jaden pulled out a pair of black pants and tossed them to Kuronu. "Put them on." He told her.

Kuronu looked at the pants she was holding. "These are yours?" She asked.

"Yah, don't worry, they're clean. Think they'll fit?" Kuronu held them up.

"Well, they might be a bit short." She said. She looked at Jaden's legs, then at her own. "And possibly a bit tight…how come guys are always skinnier than girls?" She asked. Jaden stopped digging through the clothes and looked at her, then shrugged and began to dig again. Kuronu pulled the pants on under her skirt(like, put the pants on under her skirt, then pulls the skirt off…..that thing…) She brushed a lock of hair out her face, then immediately a big white and red blazer flew in her face. Kuronu pulled it off and saw Jaden smiling at her.

"What's this?" She asked.

"One of Chumley's extra blazers," He explained.

"And why do I need it?" she asked.

"Because, we're disguising you as a boy," He explained.

"Right," She pulled off her own blazer, and then put on Chumley's. It was extremely large and loose on her. Once it was buttoned, Jaden handed her big orange sun glasses, and a red hat.

"To hide your hair and your eyes," He explained. Once they were in place, Jaden examined the girl. "Now you really look like a boy."

"Um, cool?"

"But you don't sound like one. Change you voice."

Kuronu cleared her throat, then, in a surprisingly convincing boy sound voice said: "Hey man, waz up?" She did that surfer thing with her hands. Jaden raised an eye brow.

"Good, but don't do that."

"Right, I mean," she cleared throat again. "Right…it's going to take some time to get make this a habit." Jaden laughed.

"Come, let's go."

**The main building lobby**

Zane, Bastion, Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, Chazz, Syrus, and Chumley stood in silence as they waited for Jaden and Kuronu.

"I wonder how they disguised her." Mindy wondered out loud.

"Probably got an obelisk uniform," Alexis explained.

"Hey, there's Jaden!" Syrus shouted. "But who's that next to him?"

"Hey guys," Jaden said.

"Hey Jaden, who's your new friend, and where's Kuronu?" Syrus asked. Every one snickered.

"Hi Syrus," Kuronu said in her 'manly' voice. Syrus gasped.

"How'd you know my name?" he asked. Everyone started to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Sy, it's me," Kuronu whispered in her normal voice, lifting up her sun glasses slightly. Syrus gasped.

"Kuronu?" One of the boys that were passing by looked at them suspiciously.

"Uh, hiya guys," Kuronu said, "What up, I'm, uh, Eiji, uh, Clouser." She said. Everyone stared at her as the boy walked away.

"Ok," Alexis said. "I'm officially freaked out."

"You think you are? I'm the one that has to disguise my self." Kuronu shouted. Everyone around looked at her. "I mean uh, 'Master of disguise', that's a cool movie…I think…I don't really know, I've never seen it…I think it's American, uh-"

"We get it," Chazz said, rolling his eyes. "Let's just get to class. When they entered the class room, they saw Crowler, looking extremely nervous. He almost looked excited when he saw Jaden.

"Aw, Jaden, um, where's Kuronu?" He asked, shaking. Jaden suddenly realized that the whole school must have known by now that Kuronu was Seto Kaiba's daughter, and Crowler must be pretty scared right now.

"Uh," He said. He then got an idea. "I think she went to call her father." He explained. Crowler looked totally horrified. "Yah, she had to use one of the school phones because SOMEONE took her cell phone." Yes, Kuronu had told him about that. Crowler's face paled, and then turned bright red, then pale again. "Yes, she wanted to tell her dad EVERYTHING that has happened here." Everyone (in the little group) Began to snicker.)

"Ah, yes, very, um, good." Crowler murmured. "Ah, who's your new friend?" He asked, looking suspiciously at Kuronu.

"This is, uh,-"

"Eiji Clouser sir." She said, only in a boyish sounding voice. Crowler nodded as the group sat down. (Um, Zane isn't there though.) After that was Banner's class, followed by lunch, then Kuronu announced, "Hey guys, I need to go call my mom." So Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley followed Kuronu back to the dorms. Kuronu took off the sunglasses and pulled out her new, dark sapphire blue cell phone and dialed her mom's cell phone number. After several minuets, and smooth, clear, kind woman's voice asked,

"Hello?"

"Hi mom." Kuronu said cheerfully. There was a short pause, followed by a loud shriek that that three boys could hear quite clearly from the other side of the room.

"Oh Kuronu, my baby, SETO!SETO!KURONU CALLED! Oh, never mind, Kuronu, darling, how are you?"

"I'm-"

"Are they treating you well?"

"Well-"

"Is the food ok?"

"Um,-"

"What's it like?"

"It's-"

"Do you have any friends?"

"That's what I'm-"

"Answer me sweaty." Kuronu glared at the phone.

"I've been trying, oh never mind. I'm fine, yes, they're treating me well, the food is horrible, it's fairly warm here, and yes, I do have friends, which is why I'm calling. Did dad tell you-"

"About how you invited friends over for Christmas?"

"Yah,"

"Yes he did, I think it's wonderful. I'm so happy that you have friends, it's just so wonderful. I'm so happy for you Kuronu, I really am-" And so this went on for a few minuets. Jaden smiled as he watched Kuronu listen to her mother speak. It was better than TV.

"Any ways!" Kuronu shouted into the phone. "Who is everyone? Dad looked tired, is he working to late?"

"Of course he is, he's your father, that's his job." She said. Kuronu smiled weakly.

"So, he is going to be home for Christmas break, right?"

"Well, good news and bad news." Kuronu frowned. "Your father has to go on a little trip, so he won't be at the house for the first two days you're home." Kuronu groaned, She new something like that would happen. "But, he has two weeks off when he gets back, and he's banned to step foot into that building, or even touch his laptop for those two weeks, I've made sure of that."

Kuronu smiled at jumped off the bed. "Really! That's awesome, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

"And guess what else."

"What?"

Jaden was happy that Kuronu was so happy. "Yes!" She exclaimed. "Yes!" She said again. "Y-oh." She said in a miserable sounding voice. "Oh, ok. Ok, I'll see you soon. Love you too, uh huh, uh huh, I know, uh huh, bye." Kuronu hung up the phone and sighed.

"What happened?" Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley all asked at the same time.

"Well, my dad is going to have totally off from work, so that's awesome. My uncle is going to be there,"

"Yay!" the three boys said.

"My two brothers are going to be there, though they're always there, but whatever."

"Yay!"

"And, my sister is going to be there."

"Yay!" Kuronu glared at them. "What?" Jaden asked.

"Not 'yay!' it's 'NO!NO NO, NO, NO, NO!'"

"Isn't that a little over dramatic?" Syrus asked.

"No," Kuronu said. The boys looked at each other, then at her. Then they heard a knock on the door. It opened and the whole rest of the group entered the room, including Zane.

"Hey guys, did you call your mom Kuronu?" Alexis asked, sitting next to Jaden on the bed. Kuronu nodded. "What'd she say?"

"You guys can come." Kuronu announced. Mindy and Jasmine cheered, Alexis only smiled. "Yah, and my uncle, brothers, and my sister are gonna be there too."

"Sounds like fun." Bastion commented.

"Yah, except for the sister part," She muttered.

"What's so bad about your sister?" Jaden asked.

"Zane knows," Kuronu said. Zane smirked.

"Well, I still want to meet her." Jaden said.

"No, you don't." Kuronu told him.

"…Yes I do."

"No, you don't"

"Yes, I do.

"No, you don't."

"Yah I do."

"No, you don't!"

"Why?"

Kuronu sighed. "Because, my sister is kinda…messed up, shall we say?" She explained.

"What do you mean, 'messed up'?" Chazz asked.

"Well, for starters, when she's really upset, she smokes." Kuronu told them. Everyone looked a bit surprised. "Yah, and when she's really upset, she drinks." Syrus gasped.

"Wow," he muttered. Jaden blinked.

"So? I drink too." Syrus stared at him, totally shocked.

"Jaden? You do?" he exclaimed.

"Yah, so do you, we all do." Jaden told them. "We can't live with out drinking." Syrus looked completely horrified now.

"Oh my, I drink, and I didn't even know it! This horrible, call the police, have them arrest me, I-" Zane whacked him over the head. Everyone gasped. "Why'd you hit me Zane?"

"Calm down Sy, Jaden thought that Kuronu just meant like, she drinks water or something, he doesn't get it." Syrus looked relieved.

"Oh, that's good."

"Um, what is she talking about then?" Jaden asked, totally lost.

Kuronu sighed. "She drinks alcohol Jaden." (Um, if you think I should have put a little warning thing in for that, tell me and I will) Jaden gasped. "And she's goth, I mean really goth. She's vicious, cruel, curses, and just all around not a person you want to be with."

"And her breath stinks." Zane said. Everyone stared at him.

"Ok…I don't even want to know how you know that." Kuronu said. Zane smirked.

"Ok, you were right," Jaden announced. "I don't want to meat your sister."

"Well, you're going to, unless some horrible thing happens to her and she gets placed in a hospital, but I would never wish that." _I wish some horrible thing would happen to her and she'd get put in a hospital. _Sh_e_ thought. Everyone glared at her, almost as if they knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Man, I can't wait to see your house; it's going to be awesome." Mindy shouted.

"Yah, to bad I can't go." Alexis said quietly. Everyone looked at her.

"Why not?" Jaden asked.

"I have to stay here with Atticus and keep an eye on him. I mean, I really want to go, but I have to stay here."

"But," Kuronu began. "I could have my dad send over really good doctors to watch him." She offered. Alexis shook her head no.

"I'm sorry guys." The obelisk got up and exited the room, followed by Jasmine and Mindy.

"Man," Jaden said. "This stinks."

"Yah," Kuronu agreed. "Now Mindy and Jasmine probably won't want to go and it'll only be you guys! Guys! All guys, no other girls…Man, what're my parents going to think, especially my dad?"

"We should get going," Bastion announced. "Time to get ready for supper."

"Dinner, DINNER!" Kuronu shouted at him as he left. Once they were all gone, Jaden said quietly.

"I really wish Lex could go." Kuronu nodded.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it."

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Authoresses note: Done! And I promised my sis this was going to be a short chapter…woops. Ok, it's finally getting to the part I've been really excited about! YAYS! Ok guys, 10 reviews please, I'll try to update soon, but it's gonna be hard.


	15. homeward bound

Authoresses note: Ok guys, yay, I get to update and it hasn't been like, 2 weeks, or worse, 3. Yah, it's going to be hard to update cuz my sis has her story(and if you guys like mine, you'll probably like hers) and then our story together, AND it getting close to the end of school, and I'm kinda…ok, really behind in some stuff (cough grammarcough) so yah, but I'll update as much as I can. Um, I know I said 10 reviews, but I couldn't wait that long! I had this perfect opportunity to write today, so I had to, aren't you all happy? Ok Jaden, do the disclaimer (I've decided to show him some compassion and give him a second chance)

Jaden: I don't feel like it.

Me: O.O …………. Wah……..

Jaden: Later.

Me: O.O ………………….

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Chapter 15:

About a week had pasted since everyone else had discovered Kuronu's secret-her being the daughter of Seto and Meisha Kaiba-. Kuronu's disguise had kept her hidden for about three days, until the wind blew her hat off and everyone then knew that 'Eiji Clouser' was Kuronu Kaiba. Also during that time, the third shadow rider had attacked, Taia. She had dueled Bastion first, but if she won, not only would she have gotten his spirit key, but he would have had to marry her. Bastion lost, but Taia had decided that he was too weak, so she dumped him. Later Jaden dueled her, won, and returned Bastion almost to normal.

"Hey Bastion," Jaden said happily. "You want to duel?"

"No thanks Jaden, I still have some things to do before tomorrow." The Ra student replied, and then walked away.

"He's still depressed?" Kuronu asked.

"Guess so."

"I don't know why, I mean, Tania wasn't that great, she was like, a tiger thing anyways, I don't know what he saw in her." Kuronu said. Jaden smirked.

"Well, she was a good duelist." He told her as they began to walk back to the dorm.

"My sister is a good duelist, but that doesn't make lots of guys go all crazy over her…ok, actually it does, but that's just because she's a Kaiba, most people are actually scared at of, not like that's a surprise."

"Anyways," Jaden began to say. "While we're on the topic of dueling,"

"No," Kuronu said flatly.

"Oh please Kuronu, just one duel before we leave?" Jaden pleaded.

"No, I told you, we'll duel at my house, I promise." Kuronu told him, getting irritated.

"But that'll take forever!" He whined. Kuronu glared at him.

"Jaden, we'll be there in two days. We leave tomorrow after noon, the day after that we'll land in Domino, ok, that's not forever."

"It is in dueling time." Jaden muttered, kicking a rock off the cliff.

"You're hopeless Jaden, completely hopeless."

Jaden smiled. "Well, I do my best." Kuronu couldn't help but laugh. They walked for a few minuets in silence. Jaden sighed.

"What's wrong?" Kuronu asked, noticing Jaden's sad expression.

"I just remembered that Alexis isn't coming with us." he said quietly. Kuronu frowned.

"Oh yah, she's not. We all wish she could come, but you seem to be taking it the hardest." Kuronu commented. Jaden looked a bit surprised.

"Well, you know, Alexis was one of my first friends here, and, you know, it's just not going to feel the same with out her."

Kuronu smiled weakly. _And what are my parents going to think when I come home with a bunch of guys. I'll probably be grounded, and they'll send them all home._ She thought to herself. _Oh well._

**Next day**

Everyone was especially excited to get their work done today, for today was the day that people were leaving for Christmas vacation, which was two weeks long. Jaden was still worried that the shadow riders would attack while they were gone, but Kuronu kept reassuring him that it would be fine. Finally the time came.

"Wow, this is going to be so cool." Syrus said as he, Jaden, Chumley, Chazz, and Kuronu walked to the docks. They soon joined Zane and Bastion, Mindy and Jasmine had decided to stay with Alexis, that way she wasn't all alone. "I just love helicopter rides." The young boy said happily.

Kuronu stopped and turned around. "Helicopter?" she asked. "Who said anything about a helicopter?" Syrus gulped. There, sitting in the water was an enormous boat, ship thing, with the letters 'KC' on the side.

"Wow, you own that?" Jaden asked excitedly. Kuronu nodded.

"NO!" Syrus shouted. "We can't go on a ship, this is horrible, this is bad, I knew I should've stayed home."

"What's his problem?" Kuronu asked. Zane sighed.

"Not only can Syrus not swim, but he also gets sea sick." He explained. Kuronu whacked her forehead.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" She shouted. Zane shook his head no. Kuronu sighed. "Well, it's too late. Alfonso- the guy who takes care of the ship- will be really mad if he finds out that he had the ship come all this way for nothing. Believe me; you don't want to see him mad." The others nodded.

Just as they began to walk up the ramp, they heard some one call out: "Wait!" They all turned around and saw Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine running towards them. Jaden smiled.

"You're coming?" Jaden asked excitedly when they caught up to them. Alexis nodded.

"Yah, these two convinced me that Atticus would be fine." She explained. "I guess it wouldn't kill me to take a little vacation." Jaden's smile broadened.

"Good, because I was worried that the shadow riders would attack, and you'd be the only one here with a spirit key." He explained.

"Well, now that we're all here, time to go." Kuronu exclaimed. For several minuets, Jaden, Chumley, and Chazz tried to get Syrus onto the ship. Finally, Zane just picked him up and carried him on, and didn't put him down until the ship had taken off. Each of them got their rooms, which were all decorated very nicely, possibly nicer than the obelisk dorms.

Kuronu leaned against the rail and stared at the waves, lapping beneath them. _It'll be interesting to see what my parents say when they find out that I changed my name and kept my identity hidden, and I'm almost afraid to see what my dad will do when he finds out that I was put in slifer, after all, he made slifer the worst house because Yugi's favorite god card was slifer, he's not going to be happy at all._

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Authoresses note: Ok guys, um, you're probably wondering why I didn't actually do the duel with Tania, and you might be mad at me, but I didn't do it for a few reasons.

1. It really wasn't that interesting. It was funny, but still kinda weird.

2. Too much time had passed since Camula came, and I didn't want to do the whole Tania thing, that would've taken two more chapters, and I needed to get them to Kuronu's house.

So please don't be mad at me. So yah, I'll go back to 7 reviews, just because I think 10 is too mean. (Seriously, it is). Ok, so yah, byes, please be nice.


	16. painful memories

Authoresses note: YAYS!AN UPDATE! Ok, sorry guys, but school's ending, so updates are going to be pretty scarce, so sorry, but I'll try to update as much as possible. So yah, authoress's notes are going to be short to save more time for the actual story, so yah, here ya go.

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Chapter 16: painful memories.

Mallory gritted her teeth and glared at her father. "Why can't you guys just leave me alone and stay out of my business!" She shouted.

"Because," Seto said calmly. "You're my daughter, and as long as you are, it's my job to make sure you're ok, which you clearly aren't."

"And how do you know that? You can't read my mind, so stop acting like you know everything about me!" She yelled.

Seto took a deep breath, trying to keep from yelling. He was never very good at controlling his anger. "I know you're not ok because if you were, you wouldn't be like this." Mallory's glare hardened. "Weather you remember it or not, you were once happier than Kuronu." Happier than Kuronu, Ok, that was really hard to believe. Obviously Mallory was thinking the same thing.

Mallory didn't say anything. She only continued to glare at her father.

"Look, just tell me what's wrong, I'm here to-"

"What, help? Cha right. Where was your help when I had to right a ten page report about one of the greatest duelists in the world, and both you and mom said, 'oh, we're sorry, we're to busy, look it up on the internet,'!"

Guilt ran through the CEO.

"Or, when I needed help with other little stuff, 'oh, go ask Rolland,'!" the girl shouted.

Seto sighed. "Look, Mallory-"

"I don't want to hear it! All you care about is how much money you make, and your precious image!"

"Fine, if you don't like it here, you can leave." Seto told her.

"Fine, I will, and I won't be coming back!"

"That's what you said last time."

"Well, this time I mean it, so good bye!" She turned around and slammed the door shut and marched down several halls to her own room. The slammed her door shut also, and walked over the glass doors that opened up to a large balcony.

She pulled open a dourer in a table by her bed, pulled out a burnt piece of paper, and pushed the balcony door open. Cold air rushed into her room. She sat on the stone wall that was around the edge of the balcony and carefully unfolded the burnt piece of paper. Even though you couldn't read most of the words, Mallory had memorized since the first time she read it, the most horrible letter she had ever received, so horrible, that she threw it into the fire, but as she watched it burned she decided that she needed it, so pulled it out, giving her a nasty burn on her right hand.

Mallory pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit. She stared into the night sky, thinking about all that had happened in the past few years. Tears began to flow from her eyes, her heart beat quickened. She fell onto her knees.

"Why did you leave?" She whispered. She punched the ground, and held her fist there for a moment, trying to let the pain subdue. After several minuets, she stood, feeling a bit dizzy. _Perhaps I shouldn't have had that last beer. _She needed to get out of the house. She exited her room, walked down several hallways, down the large marble staircase, and through a door in the lobby that led to the garage. There six cars, all clean and shiny, plus two limos. Mallory climbed into a black car, and pulled out a pair of keys from her pocket. She let the car warm up for moment as the garage door slowly opened. She then carefully drove-which was strange for Mallory- out of the garage, spun the car around, then sped down the long drive way.

Seto stared out the window as he watched Mallory drive away. He had this feeling that something bad was going to happen to her. He leaned his forehead against the wall and closed his eyes. As he stood there, he felt a pair of arms rap them selves around his neck. He tilted his head back and opened his eyes and found him self gazing into a pair of bright blue eyes.

"What happened to her?" He whispered. Meisha kissed him on the cheek.

"I don't know," She answered.

Mallory sighed as she sped down the road. She didn't care if she was speeding, she just wanted to get away from everything, wanted to forget everything, but she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, the words of the letter repeated over and over in her mind. Mallory shook her head, trying to get the words out of her head. She looked at the clock, 12:30 it read. She was tired, and partially drunk, not a good combination for driving.

_Mallory stared at the letter, hardly able to believe what it said. _

"_Don't worry, I'll always be here for you, I promise"_

"_Can't you just leave me alone?"_

"_Nope,"_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because I care about you too much,"_

"Yah right," Mallory muttered to herself. The girl stared at the flashing lights, lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll on her.

"_Dear Miss Mallory,_

_I understand that you and Mr. Atticus Rhodes were close, so I though that I should inform you that Atticus has mysteriously disappeared along with several other students. We will continue to search for them. I'm sorry that I have to be the one to bring such bad news._

_Sincerely,_

_Chancellor Shepard."_

Mallory's eyes shot open as she heard a loud horn pierce the silent night air. She stared in shock as she saw an enormous truck head straight towards her. Before she could do anything, the two vehicles collided. Glass from the windshield flew into her face, she felt warm blood drip down her face from somewhere around her right eye, then everything went black.

Seto groaned as a ringing sound awoke him from his sleep. He slammed his hand on the table next to the bed and felt around until he found the phone. "What do you want?" He grumbled into the receiver.

"Mr. Kaiba, this is DR. Oliver, and I'm calling on behalf of-"

"Look, if you want donations, try calling back when most people are actually awake! Do you have any idea what time it is? Seriously-"

"Actually, I'm calling on behalf of your daughter."

Seto sat up. "Which one?" He had a feeling he knew, but he still wanted to ask. Meisha groaned as she slowly sat up.

"Who is it Seto?" She asked tiredly. He didn't answer. "Seto?"

"Mhm, I understand, I'll be right over." He said into the phone, and then hung up.

"What, do you have to leave on your trip early or something?" Meisha asked, confused as her husband began to get dressed. With out speaking he tossed Meisha a shirt. "What's going on?"

"Mallory's been emitted to the hospital." He answered.

**A few days later**

Kuronu smiled, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of cold, morning air. When she opened her eyes again, she could see some of the skyscrapers that were in Domino city. Jaden ran towards her and jumped onto the railing.

"Wow, there it is Domino city! Now I'll finally get to meet Yugi Moto!" The slifer exclaimed.

Kuronu smirked. The cold December wind blew her hair around. Jaden had on a pair of black pants with a red shirt, and a black coat. Kuronu had on a pair of black pants with a black shirt and a dark red trench coat. Kuronu pulled out a twisty bow and pulled her hair up in a pony tail. Jaden glanced over at her, and gasped.

"What's wrong?" Kuronu asked. Jaden smiled.

"Sorry, it's just that with you wearing that trench coat, and your hair up like that, I though you were your dad for a moment." He explained. Kuronu glared at him, and then rolled her eyes. "What?"

"Maybe I shouldn't go around wearing a trench coat." Jaden laughed.

"Uhhhhhhhh…." Mumbled someone behind them. Jaden and Kuronu turned around and saw Syrus, who's face was green.

"Uh, Syrus, are you ok?" Kuronu asked.

"Do I look ok to you?" He replied. Jaden and Kuronu couldn't help but snicker.

"Don't worry Sy, we'll arrive at Domino pier by lunch time." Kuronu told him.

"Good, but until then, I'll just be over there," Syrus told them, indicating to railing a few feet away from where they were. "Barfing,"

"Ew," Kuronu muttered.

"Thanks for sharing Sy." Jaden snickered. "Poor Syrus."

"He's going to contaminate the water." Kuronu muttered. Jaden laughed. He then saw Alexis. She was standing alone, staring at the sky as she leaned against the railing. Kuronu smirked as she followed Jaden's gaze.

"Hey Jay, you should go talk to her."

"Huh?"

"She's probably worried about Atticus, go comfort her." Before Jaden could reply, Kuronu pushed him towards her. Jaden slowly approached the obelisk girl.

"Um, hi." He said. Alexis looked at him, and then smiled weakly.

"Hi Jaden."

"Are you ok?"

"Yah, I'm just worried about my brother, and the rest of the school, you know, with the shadow riders and everything." She replied.

"Yah, I know how you feel."

Kuronu smiled as she looked down at the water. "I am so good."

"Are you now?" Kuronu turned around and saw Zane. He had on a pair dark blue jeans and navy blue sweater. He leaned against the rail next to Kuronu and smiled at her. "How so?" Kuronu indicated to Jaden Alexis. Zane raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it."

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "Boys." She muttered. "You're so blind." _Though I guess that should be a good thing, other wise he might have figured out that I like him _"How can you not get it, it's obvious."

Zane smirked. "Maybe for you." He said, then began to walk towards Jaden and Alexis.

Alexis smiled. "Thank you Jaden."

"Huh? For what?" Jaden asked.

"For just, I don't know, you always seem to be able to cheer people up when they need cheering up the most, so thank you." Jaden blushed.

"Uh, thanks."

"I know Kuronu feels the same," Zane said as he approached them.

"What'd you mean?" Jaden asked.

"As you know, I went to school with her brothers, so naturally I heard a lot about her. Not all good things, but not necessarily bad either. But they did tell me that Kuronu didn't make friends easily, and not many people wanted to be her friend either, leaving her with pretty much no one.

When her brothers and sister were at the academy, her parents spent a lot of time away, meaning she was alone a lot, with only her father's employees to look after her, and from what I've heard, they're pretty boring." Zane explained.

"Wow," Jaden whispered. "I know that she said she had like, no friends but being left alone with no one but her dad's employees for who know how long, that's just cruel."

"Some times her dad would be at work for three days straight, and when he did come home, he was tired and slept most of the time and her mom spends a lot of time in America, and her uncle is off traveling in different countries, so he's never around," Zane muttered.

"You sure know a lot about her family." Alexis commented. Zane smirked.

"I've spent a lot of time with her brothers, and believe me, they talk a lot. But the point is, you've given her something to look forward to Jaden."

Jaden blinked. "Like what?"

"Your friendship of course," Zane glanced over at Kuronu, her trench coat blowing in the wind.

Kuronu smiled. She glanced over and saw Jaden, Alexis, and Zane all looking at her. She quickly turned away. _Great, they probably some how got on the subject of me. Why does that always happen?_ She glanced over at them again. _Darn it, stop staring at me. _

She looked over again, and they were still staring at her. "Would you guys stop staring already?" She shouted. The three quickly turned away. "Man, I hate it when people stare like that." She muttered. She couldn't help but smile though. A feeling of happiness spread through her. She pulled the twisty bow out of her hair and let it blow around. _I can't wait to get home and see everyone, well, except Mallory, I could do with her, but it's been so long since I've seen Haru and Hiro and uncle Mokuba and mom, and I know I just saw dad last week, but still, it seems like forever since I've seen them. _She smiled again as she saw that they were getting closer to the city, more of the skyscrapers were visible, and she could see some of the boats docked at the pier. She then remembered something, something that had happened a while ago. _I can't remember that I never remembered him…_

_Flash back._

_It was Christmas dinner; Haru and Hiro were in their second year of school._

"_So you're enjoying school?" Meisha asked. The two boys nodded._

"_Yah, there's new guy there, Zane Truesdale, he's an obelisk and an awesome duelist." Haru told everyone._

"_Yah," Hiro agreed. "He's a huge fan of your dad." Seto smirked._

"_Who wouldn't be?" Kuronu asked, smiling._

"_Yugi Moto fans." Mallory said in her usual mono tone voice._

"_So, this Zane guy," Their mother began. "Is he cute?" _

_Everyone rolled there eyes. "I don't know," Haru said. "I don't look at guys that way."_

"_Well that's good to know." Seto muttered._

"_Here," Hiro said, pulling out a picture from his wallet._

"_Ew, an yet you have a picture of him?" Mallory asked._

"_Us and Atti are in it too," Hiro told her. "Here," He said, handing the photo to Kuronu. "That's him."_

_Kuronu stared that the picture for a minuet then gave it back to he brother. "He's not that great."_

"_Hey Mall," Hiro said. "If you want, we'll give you the part of the picture that had Atticus in it." He teased._

"_Ok, that's it, you're going down, punk!"_

_End flash back_

_I can't believe I didn't like him then._ Kuronu thought to herself.

"I'm going to go inside." Alexis told them. "It's cold." As she walked back inside, Zane and Jaden walked back over to Kuronu.

"Did you have a nice talk with Alexis?" Kuronu asked Jaden. The slifer boy glared at her.

"Shut up." Kuronu laughed. Zane smirked.

"I think I'm starting to get it." He said.

"What do you mean?" Jaden asked. "There's nothing to get!" Zane began to laugh, and Kuronu laughed even harder. "Seriously, knock it off guys."

Chazz rolled his eyes as he walked out onto the deck. "Now what's going on?"

"Nothing." Kuronu said quickly. "We were just talking about you behind your back, that's all." She lied. Chazz glared at her and Jaden.

"Like Zane would stoop to your guy's level and talk about people behind their backs." Chazz commented.

"But what if he did?" Jaden asked.

"He didn't." Chazz answered. "So we almost there?" Kuronu nodded. "Good, I'm getting tired of this boat."

"What, you don't like the gourmet food, and your own room that's actually nicer than your old one?" Jaden asked him. Chazz didn't answer. "So remind me, who's going to be there?"

"Well, my mom will be at the house when we get there and maybe even Mallory, then later tonight my brothers and my uncle will arrive and tomorrow will dad will get there." Kuronu told them.

"I bet you're excited." Zane commented. Kuronu didn't answer for several minuets. She only stared at the city, smiling.

"Yah, can't wait."

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Authoresses note: Ok, sappy chapter, but I couldn't help it. So yah, I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for taking so long to update. The next chapter will hopefully be longer, but yah. 10 reviews please, sorry I didn't like, reply hardly any ones reviews for the last chapter, but I did enjoy reading every single one, seriously, they were so fun to read, and I can't wait to see what you guys think of this chapter…un less you didn't like it…ok, my brains dying, time for my to go and listen to my music. Byes.


	17. home alone

Authoresses note: Yay, update. Ok guys, thanks for the reviews, you guys are awesome. So yah, I'm at my friends' house, YAY! And she has a computer in her room with internet, so yah, I get to update! Ok, enough of this, time for the chapter.

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Chapter 17: Home alone.

Kuronu smiled as the ship landed at the pier. Her heart was racing. _I'm finally going home. _She thought to herself. Once the gang plank was set up, the academy students climbed off the ship, followed by several men carrying their luggage.

"Ok people, over here!" Kuronu shouted, beckoning everyone over.

"What is it?" Alexis asked, teeth chattering.

"This," Kuronu began, pointing to one of the sections of the pier. "This is the exact spot where Yugi Moto was forced to duel against his best friend, Joey Wheeler in battle city."

"Awesome!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Yah, that's great, can we get going now?" Mindy asked. "It's cold."

"Yes fine, let's go." Kuronu led them over to a large van.

"This is what we're ridding in?" Chazz asked, very un impressed.

Kuronu shook her head no. "Course not, this is for our luggage." She explained. Right as the men began to pile the luggage in the van, an enormous black limo pulled up. "This is for us." Everyone stared at the car.

"Wow," Jasmine murmured. "I actually get to ride in a real limo."

"One of Kaiba's limo's" Jasmine corrected.

"Hey, is there like, a refrigerator in there?" Chumley asked. "Because I heard that there are refrigerators in limos."

"Kuronu shook her head no. "Sorry Chunley, not it this one."

"Who cares about the food, lets just go!" Jaden shouted. Everyone piled into the limo. When all the doors were closed, the driver took off. The limo was huge; there was more than enough room for everyone to be comfortable.

"Wow, this is cool." Syrus said.

"Ok peoples, pay attention." Kuronu said, pointing out the window. "We shall be passing some very important places." Everyone looked out the windows. "Alright Jaden, right….there!" Kuronu shouted, pointing to a game shop. "Is where the Moto's lives." Jaden craned his neck so he could see the shop before it was completely out of view.

"And there," Kuronu said, pointing to another house. "Is where the Wheelers live."

"Awesome!" Alexis exclaimed. "So I'll actually get to meet Mai Wheeler?" She asked. Kuronu nodded. "Wow, Mia was like, the greatest female duelist ever!" she exclaimed. Kuronu pointed out some other places, then driver turned onto a different rode, leaving the city.

"Are we almost there?" Chazz asked. Kuronu glared at him.

"Yah, almost," The car slightly turned, and stopped in front of a large, metal gate. After a few seconds, the gate opened and the car drove through onto another rode. It was a one lane rode with a row of trees on both sides. Kuronu sat up and excitedly looked out the windows. "This is my drive way!"

"This is your drive way?" Bastion asked. Kuronu nodded. Alexis peered out the window, trying to see the house. From what she could see, the drive way was extremely long.

"It must be really pretty here in the spring and summer time." Jasmine commented. Kuronu smiled.

"Yah, it is. There's this huge garden in our back yard with all sorts of fountains and other stuff. it's amazing."

Jaden peered out the window, and then gasped. "What's wrong Jaden?" Syrus asked.

"I think I see Kuronu's house." He muttered. The car suddenly stopped. Kuronu reached to open the door, but before she could, it opened from the outside. Roland was standing there, smiling at her.

"Hi Roland," Kuronu said, forcing herself to smile.

"Good afternoon Miss Kaiba, I trust your trip was enjoyable?"

"Yes, very enjoyable."

Kuronu climbed out of the car, followed by the others. They all gasped when the saw the house. It was an enormous white house with large pillars in the front and lots and lots of windows all across the front of the house.

"And there's even more windows on the sides and back." Kuronu told them, nudging Jaden's arm as he gapped at the large house. "Well, what are we just waiting here for, let's go!" Kuronu ran up the stone steps towards the large, oak double doors. She took in a deep breath, the slowly opened the door and went in, followed by all her friends.

The first thing Jaden saw when he walked through the doors was a large double sided marble star case. On both sides of it were hall ways. Before the stair case, to the left was a large room with two large windows and a large black couch with lots of gold and red pillows on it, and other various black chairs and glass tables. And also a big marble fire place on the one wall.

(A/N: You're going to find that the words 'large', 'huge', and other words like that will be used a lot in Kaiba manor.)

"Wow," Bastion muttered.

Kuronu walked towards the staircase and stared up the steps. She took a deep breath, and then shouted: "Mom, I'm home!" The only response was the echo. "Mom, it's me, Kuronu, I have returned!" Again, no answer. Kuronu closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"She promised she'd be here." She muttered.

"Oh…Well, maybe she went shopping or something to like, prepare for your returning home." Jaden said, trying to comfort her.

"Then why wouldn't she just send the maids or whatever to do it?" Chazz asked. Everyone glared at him.

"Maybe she wanted to do it herself; to make sure that everything she needed was bought." Alexis told her. Kuronu smiled weakly.

"Yah, maybe," She said, though she still sounded unconvinced.

_Poor Kuronu,_ Jaden thought to himself. _It must be horrible for her to live like this, never being able to spend time with her parents and all._

Kuronu shook her head and smiled at everyone. "So, you guys want a tour or what?" Everyone nodded excitedly. Kuronu turned to the men carrying the bags and said: "Guys, can you take the bags up to the east wing? Thanks."

The men said the slowly trudged up the marble staircase.

"Ok, as you guys can see, that is the living room." She said, pointing to the room next to them. She walked forward to the hall way to the right of the staircase and opened a door on the left. "This is…" Everyone stared at the coats. "The closet." She closed the door and went to a door on the right. Jaden looked in and saw a staircase. Before anyone could ask, Kuronu descended the steps. When they got down there, they saw and enormous TV. in front of it were lots of red chairs like in movie theaters, only nicer. The walls were painted a dark red, and the carpet was black. On the other side of the room was a soda machine, and a snack stand.

On the back of the wall Jaden could just barely make out a projector. "Wow," He muttered.

"It's just like a movie theater." Mindy exclaimed.

"Yep," Kuronu told them, walking forward. "Only here you don't have to worry about getting gum or other candy stuck to your shoe, my dad forbade us to stick gum under the chairs, though it doesn't really matter because we have maids clean it everyday." She explained.

"Even when you don't come down here?" Syrus asked.

"Well, that is what the term 'everyday' means."

"Isn't that kind of harsh?"

"Maybe, but it's what they're paid to do."

"They must get paid a lot." Alexis commented.

"No, they only get paid two mill. a week." Kuronu said calmly.

"Two million?" Chazz shouted.

"Only!" Jaden exclaimed.

As Kuronu began to walk up the steps, Zane said: "You'll find that a large amount of money like that is no big deal to the Kaiba's." Everyone stared at him as he followed Kuronu upstairs.

Once everyone was back up, Kuronu led them into the kitchen. It was, like all the other rooms, including the closets, large. The left half of the room had a counter go all the way across the wall, and then it turned out, making one of those counter things that you can sit on with stools. Behind that was normal sized oak table. There was a large, stainless steal refrigerator on the one wall and a dish washer and all that stuff, all of which stainless steal.

"Nice kitchen." Chumley commented, staring at the giant refrigerator with aw.

"Yah, we eat snacks in here." Kuronu told them.

"Snacks?" Syrus asked.

"Then where do you eat your other meals?" Jaden asked. Kuronu smiled. She walked past the table and opened a door, which led to a big room with cream color carpet. The walls were painted a darker cream color. In the center of the ceiling was an enormous gold chandelier.

On the one wall was an oak chest with all sorts of shiny dishes behind the glass. In the middle of the room was an enormous oak table, with who knew how many chairs around it. There were other little tables and stuff with candles in gold candle sticks all along the walls.

"This where we eat our meals." Kuronu told them, smirking.

"How many people can sit here?" Syrus asked, running his fingers along the back of one of the-like all other woods in the house- oak chairs.

"Forty two." She said dryly. Everyone stared at her. "Twenty on each side, and then one on each of the ends."

"What do you need forty two chairs for?" Jasmine asked.

"Parties and such." The girl replied. Behind the end chair on the fare side of the room was a big window. Kuronu walked around to the other side of the table and pushed opened two swinging doors. It was a large chef's kitchen, obviously something was cooking. All the chefs stopped what they were doing and looked at Kuronu.

"Hi Kuronu," They all said at the same time. Kuronu forced herself to smile.

"Hi guys." She quickly ushered everyone out. "Remember: Chefs are very scary, well, these guys are. Only talk to them if you absolutely have to." With that said, she walked to the door. Jaden walked back into the kitchen and stared at the chefs.

"Hi guys!" He said happily. The chefs stared at him.

"Hi friend of Kuronu!" They said, all at the same time. Before Jaden could say anything more, someone grabbed.

"I told you, don't talk to them unless you have to!" Kuronu lectured. She dragged him through another door, which led to the hallway next to the left side of the staircase. Everyone was waiting in front of it.

"You guys ready to see the up stairs?" Kuronu asked. Everyone nodded excitedly. So they all walked up the staircase. At the top, there were three hallways. Two of them went left and right, the other went straight.

"Ok, there's nothing really straight, so we'll just ignore it." Kuronu then turned to the right.

"What's in all these rooms?" Alexis asked as they passed doors.

"Most of the rooms up here are just empty, un used rooms. There others our spare bedrooms and such. Then there's a game room, a guys spa room, and a girls spa room, and indoor swimming pool, and an indoor tennis and basket ball court." Kuronu told them.

"Wow, I can't wait to try them all out." Jaden said excitedly.

"Ok," Kuronu said, pointing to a door. "This is my brother, Haru's room, next to it is Hiro's." She walked farther down the hall, turned right, then farther down that hall. "This is Mallory's." Then farther down the hall. "And this is my parent's room."

"Can't we go in the bedrooms?" Mindy asked.

(A/N: For those of you who are wondering where Zane is, he's there, he just doesn't talk much.)

"Sure, if you want to spend the whole day looking at bedrooms."

"No, I meant like, your siblings and parents rooms."

"Oh. Well, we could probably check out my brothers rooms when they get here, but Mallory doesn't like anyone in her room…at all. Same with my parents. We can only go in there if we're invited, and we're invited, we're usually in trouble." Kuronu explained. She then walked down the rest of the hall, and then turned right. When Jaden looked to the left, it was a dead end, well, a window was there. When he looked right, there was a door.

"What's in there?" He asked.

Kuronu smiled as she walked towards it. "You'll see." She pulled out a large key ring with tons of keys on it. "Ok, let's see…this one. She tried the key in the key whole, it didn't work. "Yah, all the doors remain locked, so we have keys to all the rooms, except for a few." She explained.

Twenty keys later: "I found it!" She said triumphantly. She pushed the door open. Inside were rows and rows of huge book shelves. "Welcome to the Kaiba manors very own library, where you can find any type of book or movie you want." Everyone walked in and looked around.

"It's so huge." Alexis murmured. At the end of the room were chairs and tables and lamps. On the left wall was an enormous window.

"Yes, yes, the library is fascinating; can we see our rooms now?" Chazz asked impatiently.

"Ok, ok." Kuronu muttered. So they walked back from where they came and went to the east wing, or the right side. They walked down several halls. Finally, Kuronu turned right. The hall had ten doors, five on each side.

"Ok, your bags have been placed in your rooms, which I have chosen for you. Now all you gotta do is find your bags." Kuronu told them. She then walked down to the last door on the left. "Except this room, this is my room." So they all began to search for their rooms.

Jaden had a room dark red carpet and cream colored walls. He had a large bed with cream colored sheets with red borders and red pillows. There was also a TV and a desk.

Syrus had a similar room to Jaden's. Mostly red and white with a TV, and desk, and some tables, and several windows.

Chumley also had a red and white room, only he had a refrigerator in his room.

Chazz's room was dark and depressing, well, kinda. It was mostly black and purple with some red. He really hated the red.

Bastion, as you could probably guess, had a yellow room with a TV, a desk, and a computer.

All three of the obelisk girls had blue and white rooms with big canopy beds, And of course the typical TV and desk.

Zane's room was directly across from Kuronu's. It had cream carpet with a big bed that had white blankets with blue trim and lots of blue and black pillows. He had a TV and a desk.

Oh yah, all the rooms had there own bath rooms with a shower and a Jacuzzi tub. All three girls shrieked as they came out of their rooms.

"They're so big and beautiful, and-"

"Girly." Chazz interrupted. "Silk sheets? Come on."

"It's real silk, really expensive silk, if it's expensive, we buy." Kuronu explained. Chazz rolled his eyes.

"Can we see your room now?" Mindy asked. Kuronu smiled and walked over to her door. She pulled out a silver key from her pocket and unlocked the door, and pushed it open. Everyone gasped when they saw it. It was enormous, bigger than all the rest of the room. On the wall right to the door was a fire place, and a flat screen TV over it. Across the room were two glass doors that led out onto a large balcony. Next to the doors on the right was a desk and a computer on it and several other stuff. On the left side was a dresser with several shiny boxes and other breakables.

But what really had Jaden's attention was the bed. Across from the fire place was an enormous canopy bed with silky white colored blankets, and tons and tons of pillows laced with blues and silver. Two small tables were on each side of the bed.

"Is that bed really as fluffy as it looks?" He asked. Kuronu smirked.

"Why don't you find out?" Jaden smiled. He slowly walked up to the bed. He placed his hand on it, and then pushed down, his hand sunk a good two inches. He grinned, then jumped onto the bed and began to bounce up and down.

"Woo- hoo, this is awesome!" He shouted.

"Jaden, get down!" Alexis exclaimed.

"It's okay; I do it all the time." Kuronu told her.

"Come on guys," Jaden shouted, "This is awesome!" Kuronu immediately jumped onto the bed and began to jump with Jaden.

Zane crossed his arms and smirked. "Just like her brothers."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bastion asked.

"She has a tendency to do what her brothers usually did."

"What would that be?" Alexis inquired.

"Always act like a little kid." He replied. Everyone smirked.

"Come on Sy!" Kuronu shouted. "There's plenty of room!" Syrus reluctantly climbed on. As soon as he was on, he was bounced up into the air.

"Who, ok guys, can you slow down?" He pleaded.

"No." Jaden and Kuronu both said at the same time. The girls giggled.

Mindy then noticed a door next to the bed. "Hey, what's in there?" She asked. Kuronu stopped bouncing and jumped onto the floor.

"That's my closet." She responded, as she opened the door.

"Your closet?" Chazz asked. "Looks more like an entire room."

"It's probably bigger than our dorm." Syrus exclaimed. Kuronu laughed.

"How come it smells weird in here, and I know it's not moth balls." Jasmine asked. Kuronu gasped.

"Oh my word, I totally forgot!" She ran to the back of the closet and began to toss clothes off of something. She picked it up and carried it outside to the others.

"What's in the box?" Jaden asked. Kuronu pulled a blanket off the top so everyone could see in.

"Kittens!" The three obelisk girls exclaimed! There were eight tiny kittens, which were now mewing and trying to get out. Most of them were orange and white, with a few black and white ones. Kuronu then picked up the only entirely whiter one.

"This is my favorite one, Machi." She explained.

"Can we hold them?" Mindy asked excitedly. Kuronu nodded yes. The girls squealed as they picked up there own kitten. Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and Bastion also picked up one. "Wow, your dad actually let you keep them?"

"Ah, yah, about that," Kuronu began.

"Your parents don't know about them, do they?" Zane asked. Kuronu slowly nodded.

"Yah, see, right before I left my brothers found them in an ally. They knew I'd want them, so they brought them here, knowing my parents would never allow pets, we hid them in my closet. So yah, we gave them plenty of food and water, and when I left, Haru and Hiro would look after them when they stopped by for a visit." She explained.

"Wow, they are so cute." Jasmine said.

Kuronu pet Machi on the head. She then turned to Zane. "You want to hold her?" She asked, holding the kitten to his face.

"That's ok; I'm not a cat person." He replied.

"Oh come on, Machi is so nice, and-" Just then, the small white kitten held out her paw and scratched Zane across the face. Kuronu stared in horror as small drops of blood began to drip from the three long scrapes across his face. "OH MY WORD!" She shouted, throwing the small kitten behind her. Mindy tossed the kitten she was holding to Chazz- which scratched him immediately- and caught Machi before she hit the ground.

"Are you ok?" Kuronu asked Zane franticly. "I'm SOOOO sorry."

"What about, I got scratched!" Chazz shouted, pointing to his cheek.

"I'm fine," Zane began.

"I'll get you a band-aid!" Kuronu shouted, and ran into her bath room. She then ran back in, shouting something about no band-aids when you need them most. She then ran to the door and threw it open. When she did, two people were standing there. Kuronu screamed and slammed the door shut, and then leaned against it. Everyone in the room stared at her.

Zane raised an eyebrow. "Kuronu, weren't those your-"

Before he could finish, Kuronu opened the door again. Two teenage boys stood before her. The one had really spiky dark brown hair and nice, neatly combed bangs-which were a bit lighter brown-. He had on black pants a white shirt, and a black vest.

The other had neatly combed light brown hair with really messy bangs that were dark brown. He had on white pants with a white shirt and a black vest.

Kuronu stared at them for several moments as they stared at her, then they cried: "Baby sister!" And knelt down and hugged her.

"Haru, Hiro!" Kuronu said happily. "I told you not to call me that!" She shouted at them.

"We know." The one who was wearing mostly black said.

"That's why we call you that." The other said. Kuronu rolled her eyes, and then pushed them off of her. She turned to her friends and smiled.

"Guys, these are my brothers." She said. She then indicated to the one in mostly white. "This is Hiro," She said. Hiro waved. She then pointed to the other. "And this is Haru. The way you can tell them apart is that Haru has the spiky hair and mostly wears black, where Hiro has the spiky bangs and mostly wheres white." She explained.

"Haru, Hiro, these are my friends: Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, Chumley Huffington, Chazz Princeton, Bastion Misawa, Alexis Rhodes, Mindy, Jasmine, and-"

"Zane!" The two boys said at the same time. Zane smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Haru asked.

"And what on earth happened to your face?" Hiro inquired.

"That thing happened to my face." Zane replied, pointing to the kitten. "And I'm here because Kuronu invited me." The two boys looked at their sister.

"But Kuronu," Hiro began. "I thought that when we showed you that picture of him two years ago," Kuronu motioned for them to shut up.

"You said he was ugly." Haru finished. Zane raised an eyebrow. Everyone who knew about her crush on him-which was everyone except Zane and her brothers-, stared in shock.

"I never said he was ugly, I just said he wasn't that great." She explained.

"Same difference." Her brothers said in unison. They then looked at Syrus. "You," Haru said, pointing at him.

"You're our Zaney's little Bro, aren't you?" Hiro asked.

"Zaney?" Kuronu asked, looking horrified. Zane rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes," Haru said, him and his brother putting there arms around Zane.

"We have many names for our precious Zaney." Hiro finished. Now everyone-including Zane- looked horrified.

"Guys, don't call me that." Zane told them.

"You don't love us?" The two Kaiba brothers asked at the same time.

"No, I don't." Zane replied. Haru and Hiro looked at each other, than began to cry. Everyone in the room sweat dropped.

"Would you guys knock it off?" Kuronu asked, quite annoyed. They stopped immediately.

"Ok." They then noticed Chumley. "Hey, I remember you." They said together.

"What was his name?" Hiro asked.

"Chumlet, Chumloy, Chum- Chum-"

"Chumley!" Hiro exclaimed.

"Yah, I told you guys that." Kurono told them.

"Still in slifer I see." Haru commented.

"And so is Syrus?" Hiro asked.

"We expected better of you, being our Zane's little brother." Haru lectured. Syrus frowned.

"Stop calling me YOUR Zane." Zane told them, but they completely ignored him, having just noticed Alexis.

"Hey you're Atti's little sister aren't you?" Hiro asked.

"Alexis, right?"

Alexis nodded. "Yah, Atticus never told me he was friends of the Kaiba's." The two brothers gasped.

"He didn't" Hiro asked.

"Not even, a little?" Haru inquired.

"Well, he said he met two guys named Haru and Hiro, but he never said you were Kaiba's." Alexis told them.

"Well,"

"At least he mentioned our names."

"Hey guys, where's mom?" Kuronu asked.

"Say Lex," Hiro began. "You're cute." Alexis blushed.

"You guys only pretend to listen, don't you?" Kuronu shouted.

"No seriously, you are." Hiro continued.

"Indeed, but I already have a girl." Haru said.

"No you don't." Kuronu said.

"Shhhh." Haru, um, said? Well, it's not really saying, it's more like, that thing you do when you want someone to be quiet.

"What about me?" Mindy asked. "You think I'm cute, right?" The Kaiba brothers pondered this for a moment.

"Oh most defiantly." Hiro said.

"Indeed." Haru agreed. Mindy squealed. "She's cuter though." He said, pointing to Jasmine, who then also squealed one of them icky fan girl squeals.

"But she's cuter than both of you." Hiro said, pointing to Alexis, who rolled her eyes.

"Ok," Jaden said quickly, before they went on. "Like Kuronu said, where's her mom?" For the first time since they got there, the two boys looked serious.

"You didn't know?" They asked Kuronu. Kuronu was now worried.

"Know what?" She asked. Haru and Hiro ushered her over to her bed and sat her down, the two of them next to her.

"Mom's at the hospital." Haru said gravely. Kuronu's eyes widened, her heart began to thump.

"Wha- what happened?" She now began to panic. "Is she ok!"

Hiro softly chuckled. "Relax, mom's fine."

"It's Mallory who's in trouble." Kuronu narrowed her eyes.

"What happened to Mal?" Kuronu asked.

"Car accident." Hiro told her. Kuronu almost laughed.

"Let me guess, she was drunk?"

Haru smiled weekly. "Yah, probably."

A long silence followed. No one was quite sure of what to say. "But mom should be home soon." Hiro said happily, drying to lift the mood of everyone. Kuronu smiled.

"Awesome, I can't wait to see her."

"She can't wait to see you either." Haru said, giving her a light nuggie. Kuronu laughed. A strange thumping sound from out side was then heard. Kuronu immediately stood up.

"Is your mom home?" Jaden asked. Kuronu ran to the window, but from her room, couldn't see the drive way.

"I don't know, let's go check." The girl ran out the bed room door and down the hall.

"Wait up sis!"

Kuronu waited till everyone caught to her, and then continued to walk. A shiver ran down her spine. _Some things not right. _She thought to herself. As soon as she said it, some one jumped down from the ceiling and grabbed Kuronu In a head lock. She screamed-which was rare, because she hated screaming-.

Everything had happened so fast that Jaden wasn't sure what to do. The person, most likely a man, tried to pick the girl up, but she kicked him hard in the shins. Finally, he grabbed her legs and lifted her off the ground.

Jaden finally managed to speak. "KURONU!"

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Authoresses note: Gasp, a cliff hanger. You know, I love cliff hangers, well, unless I'm the one reading the story or watching the show, then it's annoying. Must be really annoying for you guys cuz I only update like, whenever I can. Ok, I know I told some people I was most likely gonna get the chapter up LAST Friday, and the start of the chap. I was at my friends house, well uh, I didn't finish it there. Had to e-mail myself the story and finish it here, ay home. So yah, might be goin over to her house again next week, er, this week, I dunno, though my sis is probably gonna update then…so yah. Really try to update soon, cuz this is the part I've been waiting for. Sp please, oh PLEASE review. If u don't have an account herem u can still review. Please no flames, constructive criticism givers, please be nice. Even if you say it's not a flame, but you still say my fic's bad, it's a flame. So yah, the only reason I'm going on is cuz I hate to leave this on a sour note(talking about flames)

Raven-foreverdark: Just end it!

Me: Ok, ok, fine. Bye guys!


	18. reunion

Authoresses note: Ok guys, thanks so much for the reviews. You probably don't want me to go on and on, right? Cuz I don't wanna, so yah, here ya go.

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Chapter 18: Reunion.

KURONU!" Jaden shouted as the girl screamed.

"What do we do?" Syrus asked, terrified. He'd never seen one of his friends being kidnapped, and he didn't watch many horror shows.

"Call the police!" Mindy exclaimed.

"Uh, guys, that's not really-" Hiro began to say. But before he could finish Zane ran forward and punched the man in the stomach so hard, he went flying back at least a few feet. Kuronu fell to the floor.

"That was unexpected." Chazz said as the others ran over to Kuronu.

"Are you ok?" Zane asked her, kneeling down. Kuronu was shaking so violently that if Zane even put a finger on her, his whole body would shake.

"Come on, let's finish this guy off!" Jasmine shouted. Everyone was a bit surprised at her.

"Wait, don't!" Haru shouted. Everyone looked at him.

"What do you mean, 'don't'?" Zane asked. "Your sister was in danger, and you guys want us to do nothing?" He was starting to get a bit annoyed for some reason, though he didn't know why.

"Oh I get it." Syrus said. "We should call the police and let THEM finish him off."

"Oh yah," Jaden said. "Good idea Sy."

"No, that's not what we meant at all." Hiro groaned. Zane was about to ask what he meant then, but the kidnapper spoke.

"What the heck was that for!" He asked in an irritated voice as he sat up. Everyone froze. He had long, black hair that he kept in a pony tail and earring on his one ear. He had on a pair of ripped jeans and a normal blue t-shirt.

"He looks kinda familiar…" Chazz commented, pointing to the kidnapper that was starting to look not like a kidnapper.

"Yah, like someone from Kuronu's family portrait." Chumley agreed. A sick feeling washed over Zane. Kuronu sat up.

"Uncle Mokuba?" She exclaimed. Everyone stared at her.

"Your uncle tried to kidnap you!" Syrus shouted. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Noooooooooooo." Haru and Hiro said at the same time.

Kuronu stood up and ran over too him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hey-uh, hang on." The young man said as he pulled off his boots and gloves which had suction cups on them. He then wrapped his arms around her and spun her around. "Hey squirt, long time no see." He said smiling. "Sorry I scared you so much."

"That's ok," Kuronu said. "It feels like forever since I last saw you." She told him.

"How long has it been, two years?" Kuronu nodded. "Man, you've grown."

"Well if it's been two years, of course she's going to grown." Chazz commented. Mokuba and Kuronu looked at him.

"Don't worry, that's just Chazz. He's just a nobody trying to find his place in life." Kuronu explained.

"Hey!" Chazz shouted.

Mokuba stood up straight and scratched his chin, which looked as though he was growing a beard. "Chazz…." He muttered. He then snapped his fingers. "Ah-ha! Chazz Princeton, am I right?" He asked in that cool all knowing voice.

"Yah, I'm a Princeton."

"Yah, I met your brothers, despicable jerks." Mokuba said. Kuronu laughed. "Now, how 'bout introducing me to your friends?"

"Now?" Kuronu asked. Her uncle rolled his eyes.

"Yes now." Kuronu slightly blushed.

"Oh, right. Well-" She heard the front door open. "Who-" She began to ask. Haru walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I think mom's home." He told her. Kuronu immediately ran down the hall.

"Wait up!" Jaden shouted as he and everyone else ran after her, except Mokuba and the two Kaiba brothers.

Hiro put a hand on his uncle shoulder. "Yup, she's the got some great friends.

"Yah, but who was the guy that punched me?" Mokuba asked, rubbing his stomach. The two boys laughed, and then followed Kuronu down the hall. "No seriously, who did, because that hurt." He mumbled.

Kuronu stared down the steps, her mother was at the bottom, leaning against the door and talking on the phone.

"Kuronu, is your mom home?" Jaden asked. Kuronu didn't answer; she only smiled as she listened to her mother talk.

"Uh-huh, yup, yup, I'll tell him. Yes, I will, I'll call him right after you hang up, hint, hint." She said to the person on the other line. She hung up before he could reply, and let out a sigh. She then glanced up at the stairs and smiled. Kuronu jumped down the steps and tightly embraced her mother.

"Mom!" She said happily.

"Hey sweetie, sorry I wasn't home when you got here."

"It's ok, I'm just glad you're home now."

Hari and Hiro both sniffed as they pretended to wipe a tear away from their eyes. "So touching," She said together. They then heard another loud sniff from Syrus, who really was crying.

"Isn't it though," He said.

"Hey little dude," Hiro said to him.

"We were just kidding."

"Yah, it's not that sad."

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

Meisha smiled. "Well, I'm glad to see you guys didn't burn down the house, Haru." She put an emphasis on Haru's name. The two boys smiled.

"We would never burn down the whole house." Haru told her.

"Maybe the kitchen or some other room,"

"But never the whole house."

"Just watch," Meisha muttered. "One day I'll come home and there'll be nothing there but smoke and ashes."

"Don't say that, or it might actually happen." Zane told her. Meisha smirked.

"True. Now, you guys get down here, I want to meet all of my babies little friends." She said, hugging her daughter.

"Moooooooooooooom," Kuronu groaned. Everyone snickered.

Once everyone was seated in the living room, Kuronu said: "Ok, mom, and unc., this is Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz, Bastion, Mindy, Jasmine, Alexis, and Zane." Mokuba sat up straight and pointed at Zane.

"You," He said. "You're the guy who punched me." Meisha glared at the obelisk.

"Why did you punch my brother in-law?" she inquired.

"It's my fault." Mokuba told her. "I guess you could say my entrance wasn't such a good idea."

"We told you you shouldn't have jumped down from ceiling and grabbed her." The Kaiba brothers said in unison.

Mokuba raised an eyebrow. "Excuse, but I thought it was YOUR guy's idea?"

"You jumped off the ceiling and grabbed Kuronu, the baby of the family, my little, tiny, fragile, baby?" Meisha asked. Mokuba shrugged.

"Mom," Kuronu said.

"What?"

"Stop calling me your baby!"

"Fine. Anyways, Zane, still, why did you punch him?"

"I thought he was trying to kidnap her, sorry Mokuba." Zane explained.

Meisha gasped. "You were trying to protect my-" Kuronu glared at her. "I mean, you were trying to protect Kuronu?" Zane scratched the back of is neck.

"I guess."

"Oh you're such a sweat boy! And really cute." Everyone fell over anime style.

"Mom! You're married!" Kuronu shouted.

"I know."

"So stop flirting with guys!"

"I don't, and I wasn't. Actually, I was more thinking that YOU and he would be a really cute couple." Zane actually blushed a little, Kuronu, on the other hand, turned a dark red.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" The girl shouted.

"What's your problem today?" Her mother asked her.

"You're embarrassing me." She wined.

Meisha laughed. "I'm your mother; it's my job to embarrass you." Kuronu sniffed.

"I know, but still,"

"As interesting as the conversation is," Mokuba began to say. "How's Mallory?" He asked.

Meisha sighed. "She's still unconscious."

"When was she in the accident, how badly hurt is she?" Kuronu asked.

"Lets see, about a week ago, and surprisingly she's not that badly injured. The left side of her face was scratched pretty badly, and her right arm was cut, but other than that, a slight concussion, and some bruises, she's ok." Her mother explained.

Kuronu pondered this for a moment. "She was in a car accident that sever and she didn't even break any bones?"

Meisha shrugged. "Well, she did break her wrist."

Kuronu was shocked. "I am shocked." She said.

Everyone chuckled. "Ok, how about some dinner?" Meisha asked. So while the chefs finished with the dinner, everyone played in the game room, watched TV, took a shower, and so forth.

When dinner was ready they all went down to the dinning room. There was chicken, steak, pork, corn, mashed potatoes, regular potatoes, and a bunch of other stuff, but there was a lot of food.

"Man," Chumley said as the group walked up the stairs. "That was the best meal ever."

"Just wait till Christmas; we have an ENORMOUS feast then." Kuronu told them.

"If Christmas is the enormous feast, than what was that?" Jaden asked.

"A regular dinner." Everyone laughed. Kuronu said goodnight to everyone and went to her room and collapsed on her bed. "Hello bed." She said to it. "I have missed you." And she fell asleep before she even got in her pajamas or under the covers.

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Authoresses note: Yah, that was kinda short, but don't worry, the next one should be longer.

Ok, all you guys are dying for a duel, Sooooooooooooo…maybe about, the 20 chapter I'll have one. So yah, u only gotta wait 2 chapters…though the way I update, that could take awhile, lol. Ok, PLEASE review, I'll update as soon as I can.


	19. a normal day at kaiba manor

Authoresses note: Alrighty everyone, yays, thanks so much for reviewing you guys, it makes me happy. Sorry I didn't like, reply to anyone, I'll try to do that soon, I'm just kinda in a lazy mood right now, be thankful I'm not to lazy to type. Ok, enough talk.

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Chapter 19:

Kuronu yawned as she slowly opened her eyes. As she woke up, she realized something. She sat straight up and looked around, then looked down at the blankets that were covering her. _I thought I fell asleep just like, on my bed…_

She looked over at her desk and saw her dark red trench coat hanging over a chair. She was still her clothes though. She shrugged. _Oh well. _She jumped out of bed and walked over to the balcony doors and pushed them open.

"Good morning-" A cold wind blew her hair around, she quickly closed the doors. "Oh yah, it's cold out. Darn I hate winter." She grumbled. She turned around and saw a large white tube type thing in her face.

"Good morning baby sister!" Her brothers shouted into the mega phone. Kuronu covered her ears and fell to the floor. The two boys laughed.

"What's wrong?" Haru asked.

"Yah, you don't look so good."

"What do you think is wrong?" She shouted at them.

The Kaiba brothers pondered this for a moment. "You're tired?" Haru asked.

"You're hungry?" His twin inquired.

"…Never mind." Kuronu groaned. As she stood up, a deep grumble sound emitted from her stomach. Her brothers laughed.

"So you are hungry." Hiro said, smiling.

"Maybe just a little," She said blushing. The three Kaiba siblings walked out of her room. "Wait, what about everyone else?"

"They're all down stairs." Haru told her.

"Yah, why else would we come into your room to wake you up with a mega phone?"

"Because that's the kind of stuff you do."

"Very true," Haru said. Hiro nodded. Kuronu ran down the hall way, down the stair case, through the kitchen and into the dinning room.

"Look who decided to get up." Chazz said. Kuronu glared at him for a moment.

"Man Kuronu, you like, have the best meals here." Chumley told her with his mouth full of eggs. Kuronu smiled and sat down next to Jaden.

"What time is it anyways?" She asked them. Zane look at his watch.

"9:30 A.M." He told her. Kuronu blinked.

"It's that late?" She exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Jaden asked her, shoving more of his pancake into his mouth. "It's wike, way to earwy." He said, chewing his food.

"I have no idea what you just said." Kuronu told him. Jaden swallowed his pancake.

"It's way too early." He repeated.

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Then you need to go to bed earlier instead of playing video games all night." She told him. Jaden just shrugged. One of the chefs came out of the kitchen and put a plate in front of Kuronu. All the food was on plates in the center of the table.

"Where are the waffles?" She asked. Everyone pointed to the end of the table. Kuronu stared at the plate of food that seemed so far away. She sighed. "We need a smaller table. Or at least sit in the kitchen." She sighed as she got up. She picked up the plate of waffles and sat back down in her seat. She put a waffle on her plate. "Ok, where's the syrup?" She said, rubbing her hands together. Everyone pointed at the other end. (They're like, sitting in the middle if the table.) Kuronu stared at the bottle. It seemed so far away.

"Don't we have more than one bottle!" She exclaimed.

"We used to have two," Syrus told her, cutting his pane cake with that cute little boy smile that told people he didn't have a care in the world. "But we used it all." Kuronu groaned as she stood up again.

"I can get it for you." Zane offered. Kuronu blushed.

"Ah, no, it's ok, I can get it." She insisted.

"No, allow me."

"It's fine really, please, I wouldn't want you to have to go to any trouble."

"It's no trouble at all."

"Of course it is, now don't worry about it."

Everyone looked from Zane to Kuronu and so forth as the two bickered about the waffles. "Just let him get the waffles you." Chazz told her. "Seriously, this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard people argue about." Kuronu blushed again, and sat down, while Zane smirked and handed her the syrup.

Haru and Hiro entered the room. Haru sat down on Zane's other side, and Hiro grabbed Syrus, who was sitting on Zane's other side and threw him to the floor, then sat down next to Zane.

"What was that for?" Syrus asked, rubbing his back side. Hiro put his arm around Zane and smile at the smaller boy.

"You mean you actually thought of depriving of time with my Zaney?" Hiro asked. Haru smiled. Zane had a disgusted look on his face.

"Get off me." He growled.

"No," Hiro said. Haru laughed and gave Zane a nuggie. Kuronu rolled her eyes. Alexis, who was now sitting next to Hiro, scooted away.

"Want to trade seats?" Mindy asked the blonde haired girl excitedly.

"Yes." Alexis replied. Alexis and Mindy traded seats. Mindy smiled at Hiro.

"Wow, I'm actually sitting next to Hiro Kaiba, this is a dream come true." Hiro smirked and put his other arm around her. Mindy nearly fainted.

"Well-bred and cute, a nice combination," He told her. Mindy melted.

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "You guys make me sick! Especially you Hiro!" She shouted. Her brothers got those big, watery anime eyes.

"You mean," Haru began.

"You don't like us anymore?" His twin finished. Kuronu groaned. The two boys burst into tears. Just then, their mother walked in.

"Boys, stop crying, and get your arms off Zane." She scolded. They immediately did so.

"Yes mother." The said in unison. Zane sighed. Everyone chuckled.

"Where's uncle Mokie?" Kuronu asked.

"He had some things to do, he'll be back later." Her mom replied. Kuronu nodded indicating she understood.

"Where are the sausages?" Kuronu asked. Everyone pointed to the other end of table. Kuronu groaned, everyone else laughed. After breakfast, everyone went to Kuronu's room to just hang out. The girls played with the kittens while Bastion and Chazz dueled on those little hand held game thing that Syrus and Jaden had in the one episode.

"Hey Kuronu," Jaden asked.

"Yah, what's up?"

"You know how you PROMISED to duel me when we got to your house," Kuronu glanced away.

"Yah, what about it?" Jaden's eyes got all big and puppy dog lookish.

"OH PLEASE DUEL ME KURONU!" Jaden begged. Kuronu was so startled she fell off her bed. Everyone in the room looked at him. "PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASEEEEEEEEEE!"

"I was hoping to wait till my dad came home." Kuronu told him, trying to kick Jaden off of her leg, which he was holding onto. Kuronu hopped across the room, trying to get the pleading boy off. "We'll duel tonight, after dessert, promise!" Jaden stood up.

"Promise?"

"Yes, just don't ever do that again." She said, slowly backing away from him. "Now I know how my dad felt when I would always do that to him." She muttered. So for a while Jaden prepared his deck.

"Jaden must be really excited about dueling me." Kuronu said as she and Syrus walked down the hall. Syrus laughed.

"You have no idea." Syrus told her. "He won't stop talking about it. He can't stop thinking about what type of cards you have, and what type of strategy you'll use, and everything." Kuronu smiled.

"He's most certainly got the heart of duelist, maybe even as much heart as Yugi." Kuronu said.

After lunch, Jaden and Mokuba had a little air hockey tournament. Then they all went swimming in the pool, then all the girls went to the girl's spa room and such. Before they knew it, it was almost time for dinner.

"So, your dad is coming home tonight?" Jaden asked Kuronu. Kuronu nodded.

"He's supposed too, though he might not get home till late." She said sadly.

"But we're still gonna duel, right?"

"Defiantly, my deck is all ready to crush you." Kuronu told him Jaden laughed.

"Bring it on Kaiba." Everyone walked into the dinning room and sat down.

"So, dad's gonna be here for dinner, right?" Kuronu asked her mom as she walked into the room.

"That's what he was hoping to do." She answered. Her mother than walked back into the kitchen.

Kuronu walked back to the front room and went into the living room. She sat on the couch and looked out the window. She had seen her dad just a week ago, but it seemed like forever to her. She remembered times when she was younger when her father would spend a whole month in some other country, usually the USA. They were the worst months of her whole life, but he didn't do that much anymore.

Then there were those times when her mom would go away and she would get to spend a whole lot of time alone with her dad. She liked spending time with her mom, but her dad was just special. It seemed to her like girls had a special relationship with their dads, and boys with their moms, except Mallory, she had a special relationship with no one. Not even Mokuba.

Kuronu sighed. She heard her mom call her, saying it was time to eat. _Just a few more minuets_ Kuronu told herself. Her mom walked into the room.

"Kuronu, come on." She said.

"Just a few more minuets." She said.

Meisha smiled. "Waiting for your father?" Kuronu nodded. Meisha sighed and sat down next to the young girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "He probably won't come home till late."

"But I want to show him how good I've gotten at dueling, and I'm dueling Jaden tonight." Kuronu explained.

"You have all vacation to duel."

"I know but…"

"Five minuets, than you come eat." Meisha said as she stood up and left the room.

Kuronu stared out the window. Suddenly, she saw a red sports car drive up the drive way. She punched the air with her fist and ran into the lobby and waited for her father to enter. She glanced out the window; her father was giving his car keys to an employee so he could park the car in the garage. He then began to walk to the front door. As soon as his right foot stepped through the threshold, Kuronu ran forward and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed.

Kaiba was a bit confused. "Kuronu, I saw you just a week ago."

"Yah, but that's still way to long for me." She replied. Kaiba smiled.

"Ok, you can let go of me now." He said. Kuronu released him from the embrace and smiled up at him.

"Come on, it's time for dinner, I want you to meet my friends." She told him, grabbing his hand and dragging him into the dining room. "Mom!" Kuronu shouted. "Dad's home!" She exclaimed running in. Her mother smiled.

"I see," She said. She walked over and kissed Seto on the lips. Everyone else flinched.

Seto scanned the room. "So, these are your friends huh?" He asked Kuronu. Kuronu nodded excitedly.

"Yep, that's Jaden, Syrus," She said, pointing to the person as she said their name. "And Zane." She completed.

"So we meet again Mr. Truesdale." He said as Zane stood up to shake his hand. Mokuba than ran into the room.

"I heard shouting of Setos home?" He asked.

"You're slow." Seto said.

"Oh hey bro how was your trip?"

"Work," Said Seto said dryly. Mokuba chuckled. Kuronu sat down at the table next to Zane.

"Aw, I wanted to sit next to Zane." Hiro said. Haru nodded.

"That's ok," Zane said quickly, putting his arm around Kuronu. "I'm quite content sitting next to your sister." Kuronu's face turned bright red. A weird smile crossed her face as she 'melted' and fell to the floor. "Is it something I said?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "Kuronu, get off the floor."

"Ok," Kuronu said, followed by a loud thud, then an "OW!" Kuronu rubbed her head.

"Then I guess we'll just sit next to Alexis." Hiro said, as he and Haru smiled at her.

"Seat taken." Jaden said quickly, sitting next to Alexis. Mindy and Jasmine were on the other side of her.

"But- but- but-" The two boys wined.

"Would you two just get over here." Seto said coldly. The chefs then came out and put dozens of different plates of food on the table. Chumley licked his lips.

"Now this is what I call a feast." Jaden said excitedly.

After everyone had started eating, Seto asked. "So you're all in obelisk, right?" Kuronu froze.

"Uh, y-"

"Nope," Jaden said. "I'm in slifer." Seto nearly choked on the water that he had been drinking. He glanced over at Meisha, who was just as surprised and the other Kaiba's were. "And so are Syrus and Chumley. Chazz is kinda a slifer, Bastion is in Ra, and then Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, and Zane are obelisks." He explained.

Kuronu's family looked at her. She smiled. "Woops, guess I forgot to mention that." Her family continued to stare at her.

"You invited slifers to our house?" Haru asked.

"Yah," She replied. There was a long pause. "PLEEEEEEEASEEEEEEE DON'T KICK THEM OUT!" Kuronu begged. "Jaden's a really good duelist, and he was promoted to Ra, but he decided to stay in slifer because he's a really good friend, and Syrus and Chumley aren't horrible duelists, they're pretty good, and-" Her father put his hand up, indicating her to stop.

"I'm not going to kick them out." He said. "I'm not that cold."

"You're not?" Mokuba asked teasingly. Seto glared at him. Kuronu stood up and smiled.

"Ok, just making sure." She said as she sat down.

"So what, are you a slifer too?" Mokuba asked his niece, again, teasingly, only Kuronu did not know this.

"What, me, a slifer? No way, I can't be slifer, girls can't even go into slifer, that's ridicules, I mean, whoever heard of a girl going into slifer, nope, I'm not slifer, defiantly not, nope, nope." She said really fast.

"I was…kidding." Mokuba said. Kuronu's face turned bright red.

"Oh, yah, I knew that, kidding, hahahahahahahahaha," She began to laugh that weird guilty type laugh when people are trying to hide something. Zane lightly whacked her over the head. "Ow. Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," Haru muttered.

There was an awkward silence. "This food sure is good," Alexis said, trying to make conversation.

"She's so cute when she's trying to make conversation." Hiro said. Haru nodded. Alexis was getting tired of this, fast.

"But the food is good," Chumley agreed.

"Well, I'll have to tell the chefs that you like it so much." Meisha said.

"Is it time for desert?" Jaden asked excitedly. "Is desert over?"

"Does it look like it's over?" Chazz asked him.

"No, but I'm full, are you full Kuronu?"

"Why's he so excited?" Haru asked.

"I promised I'd duel him after dinner." Kuronu explained.

"So?"

"Well, this is kinda the first time he's ever dueled me."

"You mean you had several months at the academy with him and you haven't dueled him once?" Her father asked her. Kuronu shrugged.

"Well, you know, with everyone else wanting to duel me I hardly get time to do anything else." She lied. Chazz snorted.

"Ah yes, completely forgot about all your adoring fans." Hiro said sarcastically.

"Yes," Haru agreed, equally sarcastic. "So how many of the fan boys have actually gotten up enough nerve to ask out the one and only Kuronu Kaya Kaiba."

"Wow, that's a mouth full, 'Kuronu Kaya Kaiba.'" Hiro joked.

"Ooh, you have fan boys?" Meisha asked excitedly. "Are any of them cute?"

"Mom," Kuronu groaned. Her face began to turn red again.

"What, I'm just wondering."

"Well please stop 'wondering.'"

After what seemed like hours to Jaden, dinner was over, but then came dessert, which seemed to take longer. Then finally, it was time.

"It's time to duel!" Jaden exclaimed. Kaiba glared at him.

"Don't do that." He told him. "You sound like Yugi." Jaden blinked.

"Cool," He said.

"Ok, I'm going to go get my deck real quick." Kuronu told everyone. "You guys can wait in the dueling arena."

"Dueling arena?" Bastion asked.

"Oh yah, I forgot to tell you. We have our own personal duel arena. See you there."

Kuronu ran to her room to grab her deck. Jaden already had his with him.

_It's going to be tuff to beat him._ She thought to herself. _I've seen his deck and his strategies, and even though he's a slifer, he's still really good. And he was promoted to Ra, though for some reason that I doubt anyone will understand stayed in slifer._

Kuronu pushed open the door for the duel arena. Jaden and co. were gapping at it. There were some benches on one side of the wall. On the other, a soda machine and pop corn and candy stand. In the center of the room was an enormous dueling platform that was blue and silver. It slightly resembled a blue eyes, though, didn't almost everything in the house?

"Ready Jaden?" Kuronu asked as she handed him a duel disk. Jaden nodded.

"I was born ready."

"Then bring it on."

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Authoresses note: WOOT! CLIFFHANGER! And right before the duel too… man, I am so evil, bwahahaha. Ok yah. Please review. Really boring sappy chapter I know, but it's all in preparation to the duel. And it only took me 19 chapters to get to the chapter right before it, um, yay?

Dark: You should be ashamed of yourself, having to make people wait so long.

Me: I'm sorry. I'll try to make the duel as exciting as I can to make up for it.

Dark: Good.

Me: Ok guys, review please, please be nice, no flames! I like fire, not flames.


	20. let's duel!

Authoresses note: Dun, dee dun, dun, DUUUUUUUUUUUN! It's the moment of truth… kinda, but still, I won't carry on.

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Chapter 20: let's duel!

"Bring it on." Kuronu said as she and Jaden walked onto the platform.

"This gonna be good." Haru said, eating pop corn. "Pop corn?" He asked Zane, holding the bucket in front of him. Zane looked at him like he was crazy, which was answer enough. "Fine. Pop corn brotha?"

"Oh, don't mind if I do, brotha." Hiro took a large handful of pop corn.

"You in the peanut gallery, shut up." Kuronu said. She then smiled at Jaden. "Ladies first." She teased.

"Ok, you can go first." Jaden replied, not getting the insult. Everyone snickered. "What?"

"Just…never mind, just go." Kuronu mumbled.

"But you said-"

"Never mind what I said, just go." Jaden shrugged.

"Ok,"

"Is it just me, or is she acting more like her father by minuet?" Bastion asked.

"Yah, Kuronu has weird tendency to act all, dad like when she duels." Haru explained.

"Yah, so Jaden's gonna be in a world insults soon." Hiro commented.

Jaden: 4000 LP.

Kuronu: 4000 LP.

Jaden drew a card. "Ok, I place Elemental hero clay man in defense mode. (80/2000) Then I place two cards face down and end my turn."

Kuronu smiled. "That the best you got? My turn," She drew her card. "I'll also place two cards face down and end my turn."

"Ok then," Jaden said. He smirked. "I activate polymerization to fuse Clay man and berstinatrix together to form Elemental hero rampart blaster! (2000/2500) In defense mode, and because of her special ability, she can attack your life points directly with half of her attack." The monster fire a bunch of missals from it's arm at Kuronu. "And that'll end my turn."

Jaden: 4000 LP.

Kuronu: 3000 LP.

"Awesome, Jaden's in the lead now." Syrus said happily.

"For now," Meisha said, crossing her arms.

Kuronu gritted her teeth. "My draw." She smirked. "Ok, I summon Familiar- possessed- Hiita, in attack mode. (1850/ 1500) Than I equip with axe of despair, which increases her attack points by one thousand points. (2850/1500)

"Oh no, her monster has more attacks points than Jaden's monster now." Chumley exclaimed.

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Haru said sarcastically.

"Then, I activate harpies' feather duster, which destroys all of your face down cards on the field." Jaden flinched as his cards were blown away. "Then I destroy your rampart blaster!" The spell caster raised her staff and sent a large fire ball towards Jaden's monster and destroyed it. "And that'll end my turn." Kuronu said triumphantly.

Jaden gritted his teeth. _Man, she's tuff. Ok, I've gotta be ready for anything. _"I activate fusion recovery!" Jaden announced. "This car allows me to bring back one polymerization and a fusion monster from my grave yard, and I choose Berstinatrix!" Jaden exclaimed. "Then I activate polymerization to fuse together berstinatrix and Avion to create elemental hero flame wingman!" (2100/1200) The large bird like creature flew into the air.

"That's not all," the slifer said. "Then I activate sky scrapper. So if flame wingman attacks a monster with more attack points then him, he gains and extra one thousand attack points. Now go, flame wingman! Destroy Hiita!" The monster flew towards Kuronu's spell caster.

"Hold on," Kuronu announced. "I activate mirrior force! Destroying all face up attack position monsters on your field!" Flame wingman was immediately destroyed.

"Fine," Jaden groaned. "I place two cards face down and end my turn."

"Wow, Jaden's not doing to well," Syrus said.

"At least he has more life points." Alexis told him.

"It doesn't matter how many life points he has, what matters is what type of cards he has." Hiro said.

"Right now, Kuronu has the advantage." Zane commented.

"How so?" Chazz asked.

"Kuronu's seen Jaden duel, she knows his deck, where Jaden has know idea what type of monsters Kuronu even has, or what her strategy is, though I'm starting to think she uses spell casters and dragons." Zane explained.

"My turn." Kuronu announced. "Ok, I summon to the field Gemini elf, in attack mode!" (1900/900) "Then I attack your life points directly!"

"I can't watch." Syrus said as he covered his eyes.

"Hold on!" Jaden announced. "I activate negate attack! It does what the name suggests, it negates your attack." Kuronu growled.

"Fine. I place one card face down and end my turn."

Jaden sighed as he looked through his hand. "I place monster face down in defense mode, and that's about it."

Kuronu smirked. "Some how I thought you'd be a lot harder to beat, guess I was wrong." She sneered. "I attack your face down monster." Gemini elf dove down and destroyed the monster.

"You've activated wrought weiller's special effect. When he's destroyed as a result of battle, I can return one polymerization and one elemental hero from my graveyard to my hand. Then I activate my face down card, hero signal. It allows me to special summon one monster with the name 'hero' in its name from my deck to my side of the field, and I choose Sparkman. I'll place him in attack mode."

"Fine, then I'll destroy your Sparkman with Hiita, then I'll end my turn."

Jaden: 2750 life points

Kuronu: 3000

"Jaden had better come up with something fast, or he's toast." Chazz commented.

"Come on Jay!" Syrus cheered.

"Hey!" Kuronu shouted. "How come you're all rooting for Jaden?"

"We're rooting for you baby sis!" Haru and Hiro exclaimed. Kuronu rolled her eyes.

"Ok," Jaden began. "My turn. I activate monster reborn to bring back Sparkman. Then I activate polymerization to fuse him and clay man together to create, Thunder giant!" (2400/1500) "And because of his special effect, he can destroy one of your monsters with an original attack lower than his, so I destroy your familiar- possessed- hiita. Then I destroy your Gemini elf! Go, thunder giant!"

Kuronu flinched as her monster was destroyed, and her life points dropped to 2500.

Jaden: 2750 LP

Kuronu: 2500 LP

_Ok Kuronu, make this good. _"My turn!" She shouted. "I activate my trap card, rope of life." One of her face down cards flipped face up. "Whenever one of my monsters is destroyed as a result of battle, I can bring it back, only with 800 more attack points." (Gemini elf: 2700/900). She explained. Jaden gulped. "Now I destroy your thunder giant!" The elf twins dove towards the giant and destroyed it. Jaden flinched.

"Then I place red eyes black chick in defense mode, and that'll end my turn." (REBC: 800/500)

Kuronu: 2500 LP

Jaden: 2450 LP

Jaden toke a deep breath, then drew his card. He examined his hand carefully. _Ok, I know what I have to do. _I activate the warrior returning alive! It allows me to place one warrior monster from my grave yard to my hand, I choose Berstinatrix! Then I'll fuse her and elemental hero bubble man together to create elemental hero steam healer! (1800/1000 + 1000 when attacking a monster stronger 2800/1000)

"I destroy your Gemini elf and end my turn!" The boy announced. Kuronu flinched.

"Awesome, Jaden's pulling into the lead!" Syrus cheered. Kuronu slightly glared at him. "I mean, hey look, Jaden's doing ok now, I wonder what Kuronu do."

Kuronu: 2400 LP

Jaden: 2450 LP

Kuronu gritted her teeth. _Ok Kuronu, you gotta win. If you don't, you're a disgrace to your family because you couldn't even beat a slifer, er, Ra yellow, or whatever the heck he is! _Sweat rolled down her cheek. "My draw!" She looked at the card. _Awesome, lord of dragons, just what I needed. _"I summon lord of dragons to the field in attack mode! (1200/1100) Then I activate the flute of summoning dragon!"

"What does that do?" Jaden asked.

"It does what the name suggests. When lord of dragons is out on the field I can activate this card. It allows me to special summon up to two dragon type cards from my hand, unfortunately I only have one." Kuronu held up a card from her, picture facing her. "Wanna take a guess?"

Syrus gasped. "I bet it's the blue eyes white dragon!"

For a moment Jaden was going to agree with him, and then he noticed the red eyes black chick. _Why would Kuronu have that card unless she had a red eyes black dragon?_ "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, it's the Red eyes black dragon!" He pointed at the card. Kuronu smirked and flipped it over. A black dragon surrounded by flames looked at him with dark red eyes.

"I summon the red eyes black dragon to the field in attack mode! Then I activate DE- spell to destroy your sky scraper!" The tall buildings began to sink into the ground. "I destroy your steam roller! Go red eyes, inferno fire ball!" The dragon created a large fire ball and hurled it at the steam healer. Jaden shielded his eyes from the smoke. "And that'll end my turn."

Kuronu: 2400 LP

Jaden: 1850 LP

By now, everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats, except Kaiba, he always keeps his cool.

"Ok," Jaden said. "My turn." He smirked at the card that he drew. "I summon winged Kuriboh to the field," The small, brown puff ball appeared on the field. Kuronu couldn't but smile at the furry cute creature. "But that's not all, then I activate transcendent wings! By sending winged kuriboh and two cards from my hand to my grave yard, I can upgrade winged kuriboh to level 10!" The small creature grew large, white angel wings, though it still had the same amount of attack points. (300/200) "And that'll end my turn.

Kuronu nearly fell over. Her eye twitched. "That's it?" She asked. Jaden slowly nodded. "Ok then, my turn.

She smirked. "I activate dian keto, the cure master. This increases my life points by 1000 points." Jaden scowled. If she hadn't done that, he could've wiped her out in her battle phase.

Kuronu: 3400 LP

Jaden: 1850 LP

"Then I'll destroy your winged Kuriboh!"

"Winged Kuriboh LV. 10," Jaden corrected.

"Which is why you won't destroy it,"

"Huh?"

"You see, I can sacrifice this card during your battle phase to destroy all face up monsters on your side of the field, then you loose life points equal to their combined attack points, unfortunately you just increased your life points, so you're not quite beaten…yet." Kuronu flinched as her monster was destroyed, her life points dropped too 1000.

"Fine, I end my turn." Kuronu said sulkily.

"Al right, I summon elemental hero wild heart in attack mode. (1600/1200?) I'll destroy your red eyes black chick. Then I end my turn."

"That was short." Haru commented. His brother nodded in agreement.

Kuronu took a deep breath. _Ok Kuronu, it's now or never, it's gotta be now, or Jaden might make a come back. I'm not trusting the 'heart of the cards' just hopping strongly upon them. _She closed her eyes as she drew the card. When it was infront of her face, she opened her right eye. She smiled. "Yes!" She jumped into the air. Hey, maybe this heart of the car-

"You better not say what I think you're going to say!" Her father interrupted.

"Um, no, I was um…anyways!" She cleared her throat. "Jaden, all I can say is this: That was a really stupid last turn." Jaden blinked along with everyone else. "It's time to summon my most powerful card, the card you've been waiting to see for sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long." She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she looked more Kaibaish than ever.

"Because you destroyed my red eyes black chick, I can special summon from my hand one red eyes black dragon." A large black dragon appeared on the field.

"How many of those does she have?" Chazz asked.

"Then I activate monster reborn to bring back the dragon you destroyed earlier." The previous destroyed dragon returned to the field. "Then, I activate polymerixation to fuse these two dragons on the field and the one in my hand to create, the one and only, Red eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"There's no such card!" Bastion explained.

"Yes there is. You see, I was always a fan of the red eyes, it was the opposite of the blue eyes. So one day- a few years ago- I was thinking."

"You think?" Chazz asked sarcastically. Kuronu glared at her.

"Yes! I think! Infact, I THINK you're stupid!" Kuronu shouted back. "ANYWHO!" She shouted before Chazz could make a come back. "I was thinking. There's the Blue eyes white dragon, and the blue eyes shinning dragon. Then there was the red eyes darkness dragon, which got to the real thinking part. I felt that the darkness dragon was the equivalent to the shinning dragon, so why can't there be a red eyes ultimate dragon?"

"I guess," Bastion thought aloud.

"So yah, then I went and asked my dad to pay Pegasus to make one for me." She explained.

Her father raised an eyebrow. "Asked?"

_FLASH BACK_

"_OH PALEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASEEEEEEEEEE!" Kuronu screamed as she grabbed onto her father's leg. "I NEED this card." Kaiba tried to kick the young girl off, but tripped over a chair._

"_Ow!"_

_END FLASH BACK_

"I think the word you want is begged until you got what you wanted." Her father corrected. Kuronu blushed.

"Whatever, the point is, I SUMMON MY RED EYES ULTIMATE DRAGON!" The three dragons swirled together until one black dragon with three heads; each with red eyes was staring down at Jaden. He gulped. (400/3500)

"Isn't it magnificent?" Kuronu shouted, followed by maniacal laughter.

Everyone stared in shock, except Kaiba who only murmured: "That's my girl."

"Go, red eyes, DESTROY E-hero wild heart along with the rest of Jaden's life points!"

Jaden searched his hand franticly, but had nothing. The three dragon heads opened their mouths as balls of fire formed; they then shot the fire balls at Jaden, wiping out the rest of his life points.

(1850-2400 some negative number, in other words, 0)

Jaden sighed as he fell to his knees. Kuronu closed her eyes, when they opened; they were their normal happy selves. The girl walked over to him. She reached out her hand.

"Awesome duel Jaden." She told him, helping him to his feet.

"You too. Man, that dragon sure was something." The two started to laugh.

"What, does she suffer from split personality or something?" Chazz asked, completely bewildered. "One minuet she's laughing like a manic, the next she's all smiley and laughy."

"Or something." Hiro said.

"That was awesome!" Syrus exclaimed as he and the rest of the group ran onto the raised platform.

"Yah, great duel guys." Alexis commended them.

Kuronu glanced at her father, who smirked as he walked out of the room. She smiled. She knew he was proud of her. Her brothers put their arms around her and smiled.

"Great duel baby sis." Haru applauded.

"Yah," Hiro agreed. They then became serious. "But I still can't believe you befriended a slifer."

"Three slifers."

"And invited them here,"

"Then nearly lost to one."

Kuronu looked at them. "What's wrong with slifers?" Her brothers almost laughed.

"Beside the fact that they're lazy,"

"Pathetic,"

"Useless,"

"And a lot of other things, nothing."

Kuronu rolled her eyes. "Than I'm curious, if Zane was a slifer, would you still be friends with him?' Her brothers looked shocked. If she hadn't known them well, she would have guess that they would've said some thing like 'Of course we would, friendship is a bound that lasts forever, even if your considered mortal enemies,' even though their dad would probably murder them if they said something like that, but no. Kuronu new her brothewr well, well enough that she pretty much expected them to say what they did.

"Of course we would not." Haru replied, both had a horrified look on their faces.

"He would be beneath us." Hiro continued.

"Well, technically he already is beneath us."

"Technically everyone is beneath us, except mom and dad, and maybe Mallory, and maybe even you just because you're a Kaiba, doesn't mean you're superior, but it doesn't mean you're that great." Hiro told her.

"So the answer is no," Haru concluded.

"Good to know," Zane murmured.

"And their true feelings towards 'outsiders' are revealed." Alexis said, with the same 'good to know' look as Zane and everyone else.

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Authoress note: And it is done. Hope I used the cards right, and really hope that the duel was as good as you were all hopping for. I'll do more duels; hopefully it won't take so long. So yah, please review, be nice, and all that stuff. Byes.


	21. plans to meet Yugi

Ok guys, um…thanks for reviewing, you guys rock, wont carry on, so here ya go.

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Chapter 21:

Kuronu rolled over to her side, her face buried in pillows. She smiled as she recalled the events from yesterday.

_Let's see, Haru and hiro tried to wake me up with a mega phone, but I was already awake, but it was still annoying. Dad came home, I beat Jaden in a duel, then we all stayed up all night playing video games, yah, it was a pretty good night._

Suddenly, a loud trumpet sound pierced the quiet morning. Kuronu was so startle she rolled off her bed, dragging her blankets with her. She lay on the floor twitching for a few moments. She heard her brothers laughing as they ran away. _I'm so gonna kill those guys as soon as I'm out of my state of shock! _

She slowly got up and banged the side of her head, trying to get the ringing out. "Geez, what'd they do? Blow the trumpet through a mega phone?"

_**Dinning room**_

Everyone was eating breakfast. There were eggs, pan cakes, waffles, beacon, sausage, and a lot of other stuff. Jaden looked around the room. "Where's Kuronu?" He asked, his mouth full of ham.

"Probably slept in again." Alexis said.

Meisha sighed. "Does she always sleep in this late at school? It's 9:30 for goodness sakes.

Syrus shrugged. "Must be tired. Jaden did keep her up all last night making her play video games with him, and then there was that duel, man that was awesome."

Meisha glared at Jaden. "So this is your fault."

"Um, I guess, but-"

"I'm just kidding." She said almost laughing.

"I'm not sure who's harder to understand: Kuronu or her mom." Chazz muttered. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Where are Mr. Kaiba and Mokuba?" Mindy asked.

"Probably still asleep." Meisha replied. "Some one should really wake them up, especially Kuronu.

"I can get Kuronu." Zane volunteered.

"Thank you Zane, just leave Seto alone, he hates being woken up." Zane nodded, showing he understood, and then left. "Isn't he just the cutest?"

"He is!" Mindy agreed. Everyone else sweat dropped.

As Zane walked up the stairs- he had learned his way around the house by now- he thought about the duel last night. _Wonder how I'd stack up next to the daughter of Seto Kaiba? _As he approached Kuronu's room, he heard singing. He peered into Kuronu's room, which the door was open. Kuronu was standing in front of a mirror, singing some sort of love song while brushing her hair. Zane leaned against the door frame.

"You look at me, I look away

I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
But I don't know how to start  
I wanna tell you, but now  
I'm afraid that you might break my heart  
Oh why should anything so easy ever  
Be so hard to do  
I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,  
And to say that I love," Right then, she saw Zane in the reflection of the mirror, "Zane!" She dropped her brush and turned bright red, realizing what she had just said. Zane raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, not you Zane, like, 'you', the, ack, gaa (makes all these weird sounds) the song! It's, (continues to make weird sounds)" Zane chuckled. "It's stupid!" Her face was a deep, deep, dark shade of red.

"Don't worry, I get it."

"Really? Ok, that's good. I mean, I wouldn't want you to get the idea that I lo-" She couldn't bring her self to say it. "La, lo, li,"

"Love me?"

"I don't!" Zane, again, raised an eye brow. "Yah, I mean, I don't…that…phrase that you said." _Ok, it's official, I'm an idiot, and he knows it. Both things that I'm an idiot and I'm in love him. _

Zane chuckled again. "I know," He said. "Your mom wants you to come down stares before all the food is gone.

"That's just what I was about to do." She told him as she followed him out of the room.

Once in the dinning room, her brothers greeted her with a happy, "Good morning star shine, the earth says 'hello!'" Everyone stared at them, scooting their chairs away. Kuronu's eye twitched.

"I'm so gonna KILL YOU GUYS!" She dove over the table and tackled both her brothers. The three Kaiba's rolled across the floor, Kuronu trying hurt her brothers as much as possible and her brothers were just tyring to get the 'psycho' girl off of them.

"What in hell is going?" Kaiba asked as he entered the room. Everyone froze. Mokuba walked in next to him.

"Ah, Seto, watch your language, there are children present." Mokuba whispered.

"Hm, oh yah."

Kuronu and her brothers quickly stood up. "I'm still waiting for an answer." Kuronu opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"She tackled us for no reason!" Haru and Hiro explained. Kaiba raised an eyebrow. If Kuronu tackled her brothers, it had to be for a reason, and Kaiba knew that there were more than 100 reasons.

"Oh please, this morning, I was sleeping, and I was warm and cozy, then they came into my room and blew a trumpet in my ear, most likely through a mega phone or something." Kuronu told them. She stuck her tongue out at the two boys.

"Haru, Hiro, stop going into her room and doing stuff like that." Their father told them. They looked horrified.

"What on earth would make you think we would do something like that to our dear sister?" Haru asked, pointing his arm around her.

"You did that to me when you were five." He reminded them. He sat down at the end of the table and set his lap top there. "So, where's the bacon?"

"Down here." Kuronu said, pointing to the bacon, which was all the way at the other end of the table.

"Maybe we should start eating breakfast in the kitchen."

"Good plan," Kuronu groaned.

"Mokuba, check my e-mails, I'll be right back." He said, as he walked out of the room.

Mokuba quickly sat down and began to type. "Awesome, Seto never lets me into his e-mails." Kuronu peered over his shoulder.

"Mokuba, you're like, thirty some years old, you're way too old to enjoy looking at other peoples e-mails." He smirked at her.

"You can never be too old to enjoy looking at other peoples e-mails; you can only be too young."

"Ain't that the truth." Meisha said as she poured her self some coffee. Kuronu blinked. Confused, she sat down in between Syrus and Zane.

When Seto re entered the room, he had his cell phone. "What's that for?" Kuronu asked suspiciously.

"It's for-"

"I thought you didn't have to do any work the whole time I was here?"

"Well, no I don't, but-"

"You promised you wouldn't do any work."

"…When did I promise that?"

"Yes you did Seto," Meisha told him. "You're just so busy you probably forgot." Seto pondered this for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Any interesting e-mails?"

"Well,"

"Other than from high school fan girls?"

Mokuba chuckled. "No, none pf those, just work, work, work, bills, work, hm?"

"What is it?" Seto inquired, pouring himself some coffee.

"There's an e-mail from Karma." Meisha sat up straight; Seto looked at his brother blankly. He than took a sip of his coffee and spit it out.

"Karma!"

"Yah," Mokuba said, smiling as he read the e-mail. Meisha ran over and looked over his shoulder.

"What's it say?" She asked.

Everyone looked at Haru and Hiro, who shrugged and looked at Kuronu who also shrugged. "Old girl friend, uncle?" Haru asked, smirking. Mokuba stared at them with a mortified expression.

"Ew, no. Karma's mine and Seto's cousin."

"Step cousin." Seto corrected. Mokuba rolled his eyes.

"Karma was Gozoboro's niece. See, her parents died when she was young, so she went to live with her closest and only relative, her uncle Gozoboro. (Her father was his brother) But as she got older he decided she was really annoying, so he sent her to Egypt to a really fancy boarding school, where she got really smart.

But then when Seto took over the company, she figured that she could come home, (She's 2 years younger than Seto) but he thought she was annoying too, so he sent her back. Then, a few years later, when she was 15, she came for a visit, and brought her boy friend, which is now her husband, Marik Ishtar."

Jaden spit out his orange juice. "Marik Ishatar?"

"The guy who tried to take over the world in battle city?" Syrus exclaimed.

"That's the one." Mokuba said cheerfully.

"How come we weren't informed of this cousin of yours?" Kuronu asked.

"Because after Karma and Marik got married, Seto was so furious he forbade anyone to speak of her." Her mother explained.

"Anyways," Mokuba continued, reading the e-mail. "She, Marik, and Kianna are coming up for a visit, something about Kianna having a concert."

Seto blinked. "Who the heck is Kianna?" He asked. Mokuba and Meisha rolled their eyes.

"Karma's daughter," Mokuba told him. Seto froze.

"She has a daughter?" The two nodded. "When did this happen!"

"Only about, let's see," Mokuba said, counting on his fingers. "Fifteen years ago!"

"How come I was not informed about this?"

"You were, you were probably just freaking out 'cause Meisha was still pregnant with Kuronu."

Seto glared at his youngest daughter. "So this is your fault."

"Huh?" Kuronu asked, confused. "I'm confused."

"He's kidding sweetie." Meisha reassured her.

"Oh, right, sorry. Still getting used to dad kidding."

"Aren't we all?" Mokuba said sarcastically.

"Oh my gosh!" Mindy screeched. "You're related to Kianna!" Kuronu negan to slide under the table.

"I guess who's she?"

"'Who's she?'! She's only the greatest pop singer in the world, that's who she is!"

"Calm down Mindy," Jasmine said as she and Alexis tried to calm her down.

"I have all her CDs, I brought them all with me, and I'm going to get to meet her." Mindy giggled, clearly in a state of shock.

"You mean to tell me that my dad and uncle's cousin's daughter is a pop star?" Kuronu asked.

"Cool!" Haru and Hiro said in unison.

"Apparently, you weren't the only ones not informed about this." Seto said, crossing his arms.

"We told, you were informed, you just didn't listen very well." Mokuba reminded him. Seto shrugged.

"When are they coming?" Meisha asked excitedly.

"Ah, let's see…five days from today." Mokuba told her.

"Five days!" Minda screamed. "I'll get to meat Kianna in five days! YES!" She began to run around the room.

"Pht, she can't be that great." Chazz commented. Mindy stopped running and glared at him. A glare so fierce, it could make anyone have night mares for weeks. "I mean, well, she could be, probably is, I've just never heard of her, that's all."

"If she's so great, why haven't we heard of her?" Bastion asked.

"Kianna lives in Egypt, so she's not as popular in other countries, but she's getting there. That's why she's having a concert in Domino." Mokuba explained.

"Mindy just has a knack for finding great singers world wide." Alexis added.

"So, she's our age?" Jaden asked. Seto shrugged.

"I guess, this is the first I've heard of this…lets see, Karma's my cousin, she her daughter…second cousin?" Mokuba shrugged.

"You're the math- matition."

"Wow, Yugi's gonna be happy to hear that Mariks coming. Jaden began to twitch.

"Yugi…Moto…hahaha," He began to laugh weirdly.

"Please tell me he's not a Yugi Moto fanatic." Seto pleaded.

"Ok, I won't tell you," Kuronu replied. Seto sighed.

"Great," he muttered. "Just what I need, a house full of Yugi freaks."

"When are we going to meet Yugi anyways?" Chumley asked.

"We get to meet him?" Jaden asked excitedly.

"Duh, he lives like, five minuets from here." Kuronu told him. "We'll see him some time this week, now calm down, or you wont see him." Jaden instantly sat still.

"Slifers," Hiro began.

"Always gotta be a Yugi fan."

"Go figure."

"Ah, I just remembered," Meisha began to say. "The wheelers invited us over for an early Christmas dinner, isn't that nice of them? I bet the moto's will be there too." Everyone smiled, except Seto who looked completely horrified. Everyone began to talk about how cool it was going to be.

"When did this get arranged?" He asked.

"Mai called when you were away." She replied.

"And you said?"

"We'd be happy to go, especially the school student, I think that's why she invited us though."

"How'd she know about them?"

"Well, unlike you and Joey, Mai and I know how to act civilized to each other."

Seto stared at her blankly. "We're not going." He said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Why?" Haru asked, he actually looked very disappointed.

"Meisha, you know how I feel about them."

"Seto, this is getting ridiculous. Yugi beat you more than twenty years ago, stop holding a grudge."

"I'm not,"

"Yes you are!" Meisha was starting to get angry.

Kuronu motioned for her little group of 'people' (Yes, the Kaiba's have 'people') to follow her out of the room. She ran through the kitchen, up the stairs, through the halls, until she got to her room. She flung the door open and collapsed her bed, breathing heavily. A few moments later everyone caught up with her.

"Kuronu, what's the deal? Why'd you run away like that?" Jaden asked. The slifer girl rolled onto her stomach and stared at the floor. Machi jumped onto the bed and tried to get Kuronu to pet her, but to now avail.

"I hate it when they fight," She groaned.

"They fight a lot?" Alexis asked, sitting down next to her.

"No, so it's really weird when they do. Usually they're like, mushy and stuff, but then there are those few times when my dad looses his temper about something, usually dueling, and then before you know, this huge fight breaks out."

Hiro had probably gone back to his own room, while Haru leaned against the door frame, his arms folded and his eyes down cast. Mindy noticed this. "Some thing wrong Haru?" She asked. It was probably the first time she had said something to him with out going all fan girlish. Everyone looked at him.

"Nah, I'm fine." He replied quietly, and then walked away.

"What's wrong with him?" Bastion inquired.

"He's just probably down 'cause he hasn't Mayazaki in a while." Kuronu explained.

"Who?" Chazz asked.

"Joey and Mai Wheelers daughter." Alexis explained.

"You know a lot about them, don't you?"

Alexis smiled proudly. "Well, Mai was and still is the best female duelist of her time."

"Yah but, why'd Haru be upset about that?" Syrus asked. Zane smirked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Everyone looked at him. "Mayazaki wheeler and Tishegie Moto are the same age as Haru and Hiro, they went to the academy with them, and me, and Atticus."

"Oh yah, I remember them." Chumley said.

"You knew Yugi moto's daughter!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Well, not really. They were really popular obelisks; I was just a loser slifer. But the few times I ran into them they were really nice to me. Especially Tishegie, man, she's awesome." He explained.

"Anyways," Zane continued. "It was obvious to everyone, especially in their second and third years; Hiro and Tishegie liked each other, and towards the end Mayazaki and Haru got really close, closer than one would've thought possible in the span of one school year."

"So, a Kaiba and a Wheeler together, and a Kaiba and a Moto? Strange combination." Jasmine commented.

"So, both of them are taken?" Mindy asked, greatly disappointed. Kuronu slightly smiled.

"Yah, pretty much, the only thing in the way of their relationships are their fathers. My mom, Mai, and Tea are pretty close, but Dad and Yugi and Joey is a whole different story. Yugi's been trying to befriend my dad for years, but Joey and my dad, well, lets say if you put them in a room together, five seconds later the room would be destroyed and both would be dead." Kuronu explained.

"Wow, must be pretty tough on your brothers." Jaden said. Kuronu nodded.

"Yep, I'm just afraid they'll get like Mallory and go all rebellious and stuff."

There was a long silence. Mallory had kinda been forgotten about in the excitement of the last few days.

"When do you think your sis is coming home?" Jaden asked. Kuronu shrugged.

"Who knows? The doctors probably won't let her out for a few weeks…meaning I'm completely Mallory free!" Everyone glared at her. "I mean, I hope she gets better soon."

"She can't be so horrible." Bastion told her. Kuronu smiled weakly.

"Oh yes she can. Zane met her, he knows what's she's like." Zane suddenly felt sick thinking about their last meeting.

"She's messed up." Zane murmured. Everyone stared at him.

"Ooooooooook," Kuronu said. There was an awkward silence. "Any one wanna play dungeon dice monsters?"

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Haru sat on his bed; all the lights were turned off. Rain slowly began to pour down. He was talking on the phone. "Yah, mom told dad about your guys invite. He went ballistic." He said.

"I knew it was a bad idea." A female voice replied.

"No, it wasn't a bad idea, probably just a bad time to bring it up. You know, just got the e-mail that Karma was coming for a visit."

"Who?'

"Meh, some step cousin of dad's or something, Married Marik Ishtar."

"Oh yah, I think my dad told me about them. They live in Egypt, right?"

"Apparently. Also, their kid is a pop star."

"Kianna, right?"

Haru paused. "How do you know about her?"

The girl laughed. "Unlike you, my family isn't 'forbaden' to speak about her."

"Oh…ok, I should probably go now, see if things have calmed down."

"Ok, hopefully I'll see you soon."

"Yah, bye. Love you."

"Love you too."

Haru hung up the phone and sighed. Rain was pouring from the sky like cats and dogs, whatever that meant. Sayings were so weird. He walked over to the glass balcony doors and stared out. "Mayazaki," he muttered.

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Authoresses note: Well, that was a boring chapter. Long and pointless…well, at least it was informative, I hope. But yah, at least I updated really fast! Wow, didn't I just update yester day…wow, this is like, a record…that will probably never be broken, unfortunately. Oh well, I'll try to update soon. PLEASE REVIEW! NO FLAMES…AT ALL! And be nice if you give constructive criticism. Don't got a problem with it as long as you're nice, seriously, I get depressed easily, and feelings get broken easily too, be nice. Ok, that's about it. Oh yah, I'll give you a little pronunciation lesson for all my ocs, just in case you can't.

Kuronu: Kur-own- oo.

Meisha: Me- sha

Haru: Har- oo

Hiro: hero

Mayazaki: maya(mia)- zawk- E

Tishegie: T- shee- gee

Ok, hope it makes sence now, I know mayazaki and tishegie are probably hard to pronounce if you don't know it, lol. But if you could, which I bet you all could, YAY! I'M HOPELESS! Though I don't see how…yah, inside joke. Ok, that's it, byes. Oh yah, if you guys can think of chapter titles for my un names chapters, that'd be great.


	22. randomness continues

Authoresses note: I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for taking this long to update! I've just been really lazy and was having a hard time figuring out what to do in this chapter. And I've been watching naruto episodes, yay me. So yah, Ok, I'll start now!

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Chapter 22:

Kuronu stared out the window as rain poured down from the sky. She hated it when it rained in the winter; it made the season seem less…magical. Winter was the pretty much the only time of year that it snowed - except maybe early spring if it's really cold – but it could rain any time of the year. That, and when it rained the roads froze, causing a lot of car accidents. She turned away from the window as Mindy ran into the room, waving a cd in her hand. Jaden was looking through Kuronu's cards, and Syrus, Alexis, Jasmine, and Chumley were playing with the kittens. Chazz, Zane, and Bastion were just there. Mindy ran up to her and showed her the CD.

"Look!" She exclaimed. "This is Kianna, one of the best singers in the world!" Kuronu took the CD from her and looked at.

She was tall and slender. She had long, dirty blond hair with purplish- blue eyes. She had gold bands around her bangs (like Ishizu) and lots of other little gold bracelets and such. _I still can't believe I'm related to a pop star. _She thought to herself.

"Explain something to me." She asked Mindy. "How did you not know that she was Marik Ishtar's daughter? I mean, if you're such a big fan of hers, shouldn't it had said something about it on a fan site? Marik did come in second place in battle city for Pete's sake!"

"Um Kuronu, calm down please." Mindy told her, a bit freaked out.

"Yah, you're totally over reacting." Alexis told her. Kuronu folded her arms. Kuronu over reacting was of course very typical. If you told some one who knew her very well that she was freaking out over the most ridiculous of things, they would have said it was completely normal and continued with what they were doing.

"I'm going to go see what's up with my parents, you know, see if things have cooled down." She said as she walked to the door. As she opened it, she looked back at every one. "You guys don't have to hang out here the whole time. You can do whatever you want, except trash the place. So go watch a movie or something, you're here for a few weeks, so don't spend the whole time in my room." And with that, she closed the door.

Kuronu walked down to the dinning room, but no one was in there, so she decided to go to her parent's room. As she was walking, she couldn't help but think of Mallory for some reason. She hadn't heard anything about her condition or anything, hadn't even gone to see her. _And all this time I thought she was the horrible sister. She at least came to visit me all those times I broke my bones. _She wondered when she was coming home. She was so consumed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed she was at her parent's bedroom door.

She pressed her ear against the door, but she heard no voices. So she knocked.

"Come in," She heard her father say. She opened the door a crack and looked around. Her father was sitting on his bed reading a book, giving her a weird look that said 'What the heck are you doing?' Yah, she got that a lot from people. "What ARE you doing?" He asked her.

"Um…nothing," She answered. She entered the room and looked around. Where was her mother? She walked around the room, trying not to look too suspicious, glancing into the bath room and the large walk in closet.

"Seriously," Seto continued. "What in the world are you doing?"

"Um…" She looked around again. "Where's mom?" Seto blinked.

"She went out." He answered, going back to reading his book. Kuronu's jaw dropped. _She went out! Was it really that bad of a fight? And why does he say it so casually? _"Nani!" She shouted. Her father looked a bit surprised. "Why!" She jumped onto the bed. Her father slowly scooted away.

"Because," Kuronu scooted towards him, he continued to scoot away. "Because," The same process continued. He finally grabbed her shoulders, keeping her at least three inches away from his face. He really hated when people did that. "Because we needed more milk."

"NA- huh?" she sat down. "Milk?"

"Yes, that, and she wanted to see how Mallory was. Why do you think she went out?" Kuronu's face paled.

"Uh…uh…I don't know." She lied. "I was just wondering where she was, that's all." She got up and walked towards the door.

"Kuronu are you okay? You've been acting kind of weird…er ever since you got home." Kuronu turned around and smiled at him.

"Yah, 'course I'm fine, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, why wouldn't you?"

"I don't know…well, see ya." She opened the door, walked out of the room, and closed it. _Well, at least things are ok with them. _As she walked down the hall, her thoughts drifted back to Mallory. _I wonder if she really is ok. I mean, last I heard she was unconscious, and you would think mom would've made me go visit her. _She stopped walking and looked up at the ceiling. _Obviusly something had happened the night she was in the car accident. I mean, she only drinks when she's really, really upset. _

"HEY SIS!" A booming voice shouted. Kuronu screamed. She slowly turned around and saw her brothers smiling at her, Haru was holding a mega phone in his hand. She glared at them for a moment.

"Give me that!" She said as she grabbed the mega phone from her brother. "Where'd you guys get this anyways?"

"Uh, wal-mart." Hiro answered.

Kuronu pondered this for a moment. "You can get these at wal-mart?"

Her brothers shrugged. "Obviously if we got it there." Haru explained. Kuronu thought about this. They could be lying. But it was useless arguing over where they got a mega phone.

"Ok, well I'll see you guys later. I'm gonna see what the others are up to." She continued to walk down the hall.

"Uh, what about our mega phone?" Hiro asked. Kuronu didn't answer.

"No seriously, can we have it back?"

"Oh c'mon."

Kuronu went back into her room, and when she got there, everyone was just as they were when she left. Jaden noticed her look. "What?" He asked. He was holding her red eyes ultimate dragon card.

"I said that you could do whatever you wanted, except trash the house." Jaden looked at Syrus and Chumley and shrugged.

"Ok, see you later than." Everyone got up went to different rooms of the house, except Kuronu, was left alone in her room.

"For some reason I was half expecting everyone to stay and insist on staying." She thought to herself aloud.

"You're really selfish, you know that?" Kuronu turned around and saw no one, but she knew her brothers were there.

"What do you want?" The two boys poked their heads around the door frame.

"Can we have our mega-"

"No," Kuronu answered quickly, and then left her room. As she was walking down the hall, she heard an "eh-hem". She turned around and saw her brothers pointing at one of the kittens, it trying to catch a fly that had flown out of the room. Kuronu quickly picked it up, put it back in her room, and closed the door. "That would've been bad."

"So, as payment for us saving your butt, how 'bout that mega phone back?" Hiro asked. Kuronu gave them 'the look'. 'The look' said many things. This time it was saying 'you already know my answer, so why bother asking?' She walked down the hall. _Let's see, Bastion probably went to the library. Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine…oh well, I'll find them later. Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and Chazz probably went to the game room. Now Zane…oh well. I'll go to the game room. _Kuronu set off for the game room.

Haru and Hiro sulked off down to the kitchen. "I feel empty without the mega phone." Haru wined. Hiro nodded in agreement. When they got down there, Zane was sitting at the table. Seto was leaning against the wall, and Meisha was looking through a cook book.

"What's your guy's problem?" Seto asked. The two boys sniffed.

"Kuronu took away our mega phone." Hiro replied. Meisha snickered.

"About time," Their father muttered.

"Do you think Mallory will like this cake?" Meisha asked, holding up the book. There was a picture of a huge white cake with lots of those little icing flowers.

"No," Everyone replied quickly. Meisha sighed.

"What, are we having a welcome home party?" Haru asked, looking over his mother's shoulder.

"She'll murder us all," Hiro said.

"Of course not. It's for her birthday."

Haru and Hiro blinked. "Nani?" The asked in unison. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Her birthday," he began. "is next week." The Kaiba brothers paled.

"Really?" They asked.

"You forgot your own sister's birthday?" Zane asked, giving them the "I'm ashamed of you" look.

"No, it's just that we haven't celebrated it in so long we forgot when it was." Haru explained.

"Yah, Mal hasn't been home for Christmas or her birthday for a few years." Hiro said. Zane raised an eyebrow.

"She's a weird person." Haru commented as he began to dig through the fridge.

"I know," Zane told them. Everyone looked at him.

"You do?" Meisha asked.

Zane nodded. "Yah, I met her when she came to the academy to give the brief case to Kuronu." He explained.

"I told you you should've sent us." Hiro whispered to his dad. Seto just rolled his eyes.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu walked down the many hall ways of her house. But as she walked something strange happened. Everything seemed to be tilted and weird, and she began to feel light headed. She suddenly tripped over something and stumbled, though when she looked back nothing was there to trip over. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment, and then opened them. She smiled. _Good, back to normal._ She continued to walk down the hall. _Though that was weird. _She placed her hand on her head; the light headedness hadn't quite gone away. She got to the game room, and sure enough, Jaden and the rest of the slifer gang was in the back, playing a fighting game.

"Hey guys," She said as she walked towards them. Syrus turned around and smiled. Jaden waved, he was fighting against Chazz. As Kuronu walked towards them, the dizzy feeling returned. She banged into one of the game things (like, at an arcade, they have all those big game things) and leaned against it. She could see Syrus.

"Kuronu, are you ok?" he asked. Jaden stopped playing and turned around, and then everything went black.

"Kuronu!" She could her Jaden shout.

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Ok, that was probably the most retarded thing you've ever read. I wouldn't blame anyone if they said this story was going no where and decided never to read it again. It would make me very, VERY sad, but I wouldn't blame you. I think it has to do with the fact that I hadn't written in so long, so it'll take me a while to get back into the swig of things. Yah, don't expect a lot of updates during the summer. See, its summer, and I have nothing to do, and I'm kinda enjoying the fact that I have nothing to do, thus, do nothing. Wow, orochimaru's theme is weird…ok that was random. Yah, as I write I'm listening to naruto music. So yah, please review, things should get better after this chapter, I just kinda wanna get this part over with so it's gonna be kinda lame, and I need to go back and read all my chapters cuz I've forgotten half my story already. Um, people who's stories I've stated reading, I will finish! I'm just really lazy and a really slow reader, so I get bored with reading quickly no matter how good the story is…sometimes. If it's REALLY good, then nothing can keep me away. So yah, I will read them! Ok, that's all. Again, next few chapters should be better…I hope. Pray that I get internet in my room though. If that happens, there'll be A LOT more updates. Oh yah, i'm trying to think of a new story title, so if you can think of one, please tell me.


	23. thoughts of Kuronu

Authoresses note: Yays, I'm updating already. Yah, I just wanted to get this chapter outa the way cuz I'm gonna say now that nothing exciting is gonna happen in this chapter…I guess, nothing exciting to me anyways. It's just kinda a preparation chapter for the next one. So yah, Oh yah, thankies SOOOOOOOOO much for all your reviews, It made me happy.

Chapter 23:

_Kuronu ran through darkness. Darkness was the only thing that was around. She ran and ran, but didn't seem to go anywhere. Suddenly she saw a light up ahead. There was a person standing there clad in blue and white. _

"_Zane!" She called out hopefully. He slowly began to turn around as she approached him. He was smiling. But as he turned fully around, his features became dark, the white and blue was replaced with black, and he shoved her to the ground. The girl looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. _

"_Why!" She called out as he began to walk away. She got and ran to him again, but he slapped her across the face, and then continued to walk away. "Don't go!" She cried, but he was gone into the darkness._

Kuronu's eye's snapped open. Everything looked fuzzy. As she sat up a damp clothe fell off her forehead. She stared at it for a minuet as it lay in her hand. _What happened?_ She looked around the room. Her father was sleeping in a chair by her bead. She rested her forehead on the palm of her hand and closed her eyes. She had a throbbing headache. _Zane…_ She couldn't help but wonder about the dream. Last she had a dream about him, he lost his soul, and it came true.

She pulled herself out of bed and tried to stand. She had to hold onto the table beside her bed keep herself from falling. She slowly walked towards the door. When she got there, she leaned against it. She felt so dizzy that just sitting up was hard. She opened the door slowly walked out, careful not to make too much noise. She had no idea what time it was, but it must've been either really early or really late because it was still dark out.

She began to walk towards Zane's room, when everything around her seemed to swirl. She began to fall backwards, but someone caught her. "What the hell are you doing?" Her father asked sternly as he picked her up. When she looked at him, she half expected him to look furious, but instead he looked worried. He carried her back to her room and laid her on her bed and pulled the covers.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly. Kuronu looked at the wall, then back up at him.

"I feel…half dead." She replied. Seto almost laughed. She was already starting to sound like Mallory. "What happened?" She asked.

"You fainted. You had a really high fever so we called a doctor. He said that it was just a bad cold and you'd be better in a few days." Her father replied. "You just need rest." He told her. Kuronu sighed and closed her eyes. Seto opened the door. He looked back at her and smiled.

As he walked down the hall to his room he yawned. He opened the door to his room, pulled off his shirt, threw across the room, and collapsed onto his bed. He didn't even bother getting into his pajamas. Meisha was to his right, sound asleep. He looked at the clock. It read 3:30 am. He sighed. He hadn't slept at all- except for that quick nap 15 minuets ago- since Kuronu fainted two days ago. Things had been weird since then. Everyone was worried about her, even though it was just a bad cold, but still. He sighed as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Seto gritted his teeth as the alarm beeped. He rolled over and banged it with his fist, turning it off…for now anyways. He pulled the pillow over his head as he heard Meisha get up.

She smiled at him. It was always fun to see him try to sleep in, because he never did. But then there were those few times. She went into the bath room so she could take a shower.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jaden lay on his bed. He was worried about Kuronu. He knew she would be ok, but still. He hoped she'd be better by that evening, which was when they were going to the Wheeler's.

_FLASH BACK_

_Syrus ran down into the kitchen and began to run around Mr. Kaiba. "Kuronufaintedyougottahelphe she'supstarishurryhurryhurry!" Seto raised an eyebrow._

"_Be afraid," Haru began._

"_It's Syrus the super- spazz." Hiro completed._

"_Is there an off switch anywhere?" Seto asked Zane. Zane sighed as he stood up. He walked over to his little brow and whacked him across the head. Syrus stared at him for a moment, his hands on his head._

"_Slow down. Now repeat what you had said." Zane told him. Syrus let out a deep breath._

"_Kuronu fainted, you gotta help her, se's upstairs, hurry, hurry, hurry!" He repeated, only slow enough where they could understand. Everyone immediately when up to the game room. _

_Jaden and everyone else were kneeling next to her, including Bastion and the other girls who had heard Syrus running down the halls. _

"_She looks so peaceful when she's unconscious" Haru commented. Hiro nodded._

"_Yah, I can only imagine how beautiful she'll look when she's dead." Everyone gave them weird looks. Their reach over and whacked them both on the head. _

"_Ow," Haru whined._

"_Abusive tyrant!" Hiro shouted as he stood up and pointed an accusing finger at his father. Seto just rolled his eyes and picked the young girl up._

_END FLASHBACK_

Yes, it had been a strange past few days. None of the academy students were quite sure of what to do. It felt weird doing stuff in Kuronu's house without her. Not to mention her family seemed rather…distant. Haru and Hiro seemed less energetic. Mrs. Kaiba's usual cheerful attitude had seemed to vanish, and no one had really seen Mr. Kaiba. Kuronu did seem to be the source of happiness for the family for some strange reason.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Zane stared out one of the windows in his room. It wasn't raining, but it was dark and depressed looking. Alexis opened his door and smiled at him. "Zane, breakfast is ready." She informed him. He smiled.

"Ok, I'll be right down." The blonde haired girl closed the door. Zane continued to look out the window. This weird state of depression seemed to have fallen upon everyone. His heart seemed to skip a beat when he remembered what Haru had said the day she fainted.

"_She looks so peaceful when she's unconscious." _

For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about it, but what disturbed him the most was that he had to agree with him. She did look peaceful. It was a feeling that he had never felt before, and he wasn't sure of what it was.

Authoresses note: Like I said, just a short chapter in preparation of the next chapter. Cu if I had gone on, it probably would've been VERY long and you would've been here for hours. So yah, um, I forgot to say in the last chapter that I had changed some stuff in the first chapter, so you can all go back and read it if you want. I think it makes the story make a bit more sense. Ok, please review.


	24. yugi moto

Authoresses note: Yay, update! Thanks soooo much for yur reviews, you guys rock! Ok, I'll try to get this to the point of the chapter wuickly, cuz I don't want to just do another pointless prep chapter like the last one.

Chapter 24: Yugi Moto

Kuronu's eyes snapped open. She slowly sat up and looked around. Everything looked normal. She smiled. "I'm better!" She cheered happily. She got up and began to dance around happily, until she tripped over…nothing. "Ow," She said as she rubbed her head. She hated when she tripped over hew own feet. She got up and went downstairs.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"YES!" Jaden shouted. "We're going to meet Yugi Moto today! WOO-HOO!"

"Jaden, calm down." Alexis scolded. "You're going to make Mr. Kaiba upset."

"How will being excited make Mr. Kaiba upset?" Syrus asked.

"Besides the fact that he despises Yugi and you're being very, very, loud," Zane began said as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded and eyes closed. "absolutely nothing." Alexis couldn't help but giggle as Jaden tried to figure out what Zane had said.

Everyone was in the kitchen eating a light lunch. (Don't want to ruin their appetites before dinner now would you) All the students and the Kaiba brothers were either sitting or standing around the table, while Meisha set out lunch meat and such. Seto was leaning against the wall, glaring at Jaden, most likely just because Jaden was a Yugi fan and he was afraid that he would be a 'bad influence' on Kuronu and the rest of the world.

Suddenly, Kuronu walked into the kitchen smiling. "Hey dad," She said happily.

"Hey Kuronu," He replied, still glaring at Jaden as he talked about Yugi. He blinked. "Kuronu!" He shouted. Everyone looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing down here!"

"Um, getting food, I'm hungry." She replied, rubbing her stomach.

"Kuronu!" Jaden exclaimed. "Awesome, you're awake."

"And feeling ten times better." She explained.

"Now you can come to the Wheelers tonight." Syrus said happily. Meisha ran over to her and gave her a hug.

"What's her problem?" Kuronu asked.

"Meh, probably just glad to see you're not dead." Hiro answered. Everyone looked at him weirdly. "What?"

"What is it with you and your sister being dead?" Zane inquired. He also inquired why he ever befriended them.

"Don't answer that." Their mother said quickly as she placed her hand on Kuronu's forehead. "Hm, your fever's gone down quite a bit, but…"

"But what!" Kuronu asked urgently. "I feel fine, I'm great, nothings dizzy at all, I'M FULL OF ENERGY!" She said enthusiastically.

"Yah, but sometimes I wonder if that's a bad thing." Seto muttered.

Meisha sighed. "But it's still there, so unless it's completely gone by tonight, you can't go." Kuronu looked mortified. "So go back up stairs and rest." She said sternly.

"But, but, but…"

"No buts, now vamoose." Kuronu sniffed as she turned around and shuffled back upstairs.

"Can she really not go tonight?" Syrus asked disappointedly.

"Not unless she feels better." Meisha replied.

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

" How ya feeling Kuronu?" Jaden asked as he burst into the girl's room.

"I FEEL GOOD!" She replied. Kuronu and Jaden did the 'good guy pose'. (if you watch Naruto, you'll get it, if you don't…I dunno then) Their teeth went 'ping' Alexis and Zane, who were standing in the doorway did the anime sweat drop. This was all they had to say:

"…"

"Awesome, then get dressed and lets g-"

"Hold it," Kuronu's mother walked into the room. "I'll decide if you feel good or not." She put her hand on her daughters fore head and narrowed her eyes.

"Well?" Kuronu asked. Meisha stood and folded her arms.

"She…may…" Kuronu Jaden stared at her, anticipating her decision. "…not go." She finished. Kuronu and Jaden's jaw's dropped. Then they both had those anime tears.

"Why not?" They both asked with the big, sparkly, teary anime eyes. Meisha looked at them both.

"What is this, an anime?" She asked. Zane and Alexis shrugged. Meisha sighed. "She still has a fever so I don't think it's a good idea for her to go to a place with Yugi, Joey, and her father all in the same building." She explained.

"Then make dad stay home." Kuronu suggested.

"I have to stay home?" Seto asked as he suddenly poked his head around the door frame. He had a hopeful look in his eyes. Meisha glared at him.

"No Seto, you're not staying home." Seto's face fell as he sulked away. "Go get ready."

All the students stared at where he was weirdly. "But someone should stay home with her, right?" Alexis asked. "I mean, it's not good for her to stay home alone when she's sick. What if she faints again?" Meisha thought about this.

"Good point,"

"I'll stay home with her." Seto quickly volunteered as he ran into the room. Meisha glared at him again.

"No, get it through your thick skull. You. Are. Not. Staying. Home." Seto sulked back out of the room.

"I can stay home with her." Zane suggested. Kuronu turned a bright red as everyone looked at him surprised. "I mean, I'm not a huge Yugi fan so it doesn't really matter for me, besides, we'll probably be seeing him a lot with Jaden here."

"Ah, Zane, you're so sweet." Meisha said. "Isn't he adorable?" She asked Kuronu, elbowing her.

"Mooooooooooooooooom." Kuronu whined as her face turned even redder. Meisha giggled.

"Well, we had best get ready, I'll see you later Kuronu." And she, Alexis and Zane walked out of the room.

"Stinks that you can't come." Jaden said, but when he looked over, Kuronu had the big sparkly anime eyes.

"Can you believe my luck?" She said excitedly. "Wow, just imagine me and Zane, home alone for hours." She sighed. A little thought bubble came up and she had a vision of Zane telling her he loved her and then the kissed. She sighed happily at this.

Jaden blinked. A little thought bubble came up over him and he had a vision Kuronu and Zane kissing." He cringed. "Ew," he muttered.

Eventually everyone was gone. Kuronu was sitting on her bed, flipping through channels. "A guy travels to the past, and do you know what he tells some where there?" She asked herself aloud. "There will be thousands of channels, but nothing on…at all" She finished as she threw the remote across the room. The door then opened and Zane walked in. Kuronu sat up and smiled.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" He asked her as he sat on the end of the bed.

"Anything you want to do." She replied. Zane frowned.

"Well that narrows it down." He said. The two sat there in awkward silence for a moment. "We could watch a movie." Zane suggested. Kuronu smiled. A little thought bubble came up and she had a vision of them snuggled up together and watching a romance movie.

"We could do that." Kuronu agreed.

"Or we could play video games," No romantic thoughts came from this.

"Nah, kinda boring."

Zane though about this. There really wasn't much to do. He really wanted to duel her, but she obviously wasn't in any type of condition to duel. The movie was pretty much the only choice. "The movie seems to be about it." Zane informed her.

"Ok, movie it is." Kuronu picked up her cell phone and dialed a number on the phone. "I'll have someone set up the basement." She explained before Zane could ask. "Hi Liz, Zane and I are going to watch a movie, could you change the basement from theater to normal? Thanks." She put the phone down.

"Theatre to normal?" Zane asked. Kuronu smiled.

"You'll see."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jaden smiled as Seto knocked on the front door. It was a modern looking house. You know, like all those gazillions of houses that people build by destroying beautiful farm land, and then there are these big developments where all the houses look the same. Yah, one of those. The door opened and there was a young girl, about eighteen or so.

She had long blonde hair and brown eyes. She had on navy pants and a navy short sleeved shirt with a dark purple vest. "Hi," she said. Her voice was gentle sounding. "Come on in." Everyone walked in. As Haru walked in he stopped and smiled at her, she returned the smile. Her teeth were white and strait.

"My mom and Mrs. Moto are in the kitchen, while the men are in the living room." She informed them. She looked at Haru and Hiro. "You guys can direct everyone there, but first, may I have your coats?" Everyone took off their coats and handed them to the young girl. She was in act, the perfect hostess.

"Oh yah," She began as she looked at the academy students. "I'm Mayazakie Wheeler."

"Sweet," Jaden said. "I'm Jaden Yuki."

"Alexis Rhodes." Alexis said, her eyes shinning. _Wow, Mayazakie Wheeler, I can't believe I'll get to meet her, Tishegie, AND Mai Wheeler._

"Chazz Princeton."

"Chumley Huffington."

"Hey, I remember you." Maya said. "You were a slifer, right? Awesome."

"Bastion Misawa."

"I'm Mindy."

"My name's Jasmine."

"Syrus Truesdale." Syrus finished. Mayazakie stared at him.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Zane's little bro, would you?" Zane smiled.

"Yah, that's me."

She then pointed to Alexis. "And you're Atticus's little sis." Alexis nodded. Maya knew about how Atticus had disappeared, and assumed he was still gone, so didn't say anything more about it. She looked back at Syrus."Awesome possum," She said. Syrus blinked.

"Possum, where?" Chumley asked looking around. Mayazakie laughed.

"Where is Zane, and, where's Kuronu?" She asked.

"Kuronu got sick, so Zane stayed home with her." Alexis replied. Maya blinked.

"Are they dating or something?" Everyone looked mortified, well; Syrus, Jaden, and Chumley did anyways.

"Ew, no way." Jaden said. "He just, uh, well…why'd he stay home with her?" Everyone shrugged. (Oh yah, Seto and Meisha went else where)

Jaden glanced around, he hoped to see Yugi. He glanced at the big staircase, and he saw a young woman with black hair and yellow and purple bangs. She had on blue pants, a white shirt, and a blue jacket. She began to walk down the stairs.

"What's wrong Jaden?" Alexis asked, noticing his stare. Everyone looked to where he was staring.

"Hey Tea." Maya said smiling.

"Awesome, they're here." She replied. "I fixed the heater in your room by the way."

"Thanks." Maya replied.

"Fixed the heater?" Syrus asked. The two girls smiled.

"Guys, this is…"

"Tishegie Moto!" Jaden exclaimed. The girl laughed.

"Like always, the beautiful Tishegie has many adoring fans." Hiro said as he smiled at the girl.

"Hiro," She said happily as she walked over and hugged him. "It feels like forever since I saw you." Everyone smirked. Jaden looked at Maya and Haru were standing next to each other.

"Why aren't you guys hugging?" He asked. The two looked at him.

"Excuse me?" Maya asked.

"You two like each other, right?" Tea and Hiro chuckled.

"Uh, well, I-I guess…" Maya stuttered. Haru folded his arms and looked away.

Jaden was about to continue, when he suddenly gasped. "Yugi Moto," He whispered. Yugi smiled at him.

"Hi,"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu sighed as she and Zane walked back upstairs. They had watched a movie, but it was in fact, not romance…at all. It was an action movie, a good action movie, but no romance. No opportunity for them to snuggle. There weren't even any scary parts for her to scoot next to him, appearing that she was scared and then he'd put his arm around her to comfort her. No, none of that at all. Just a cool action movie with lots of fighting, guns, and guts and blood being spilled all over the place. Very enjoyable to watch. (And no, I'm not being sarcastic… yah, I'm weird like that)

Zane, having no idea what was going on inside Kuronu's head had enjoyed very much. He though it was interesting how all the movie theatre chairs could slide under the floor so that way they could put couches and comfy chairs in.

"What now?" Zane asked. Kuronu sighed. She was still disappointed in the lack of romance.

"I don't know. Everyone should be home soon. Maybe some ice cream?"

Zane smiled. "Sounds good." The two walked into the kitchen. Kuronu sat down on one of the stools that were around the island. Zane got out two bowls and then went to the freezer. It was a big freezer with lots of different things, but no ice cream. "Where's the ice cream?" He asked.

"Oh yah, we have a special freezer just for that." Kuronu got up and opened a cabinet door. It was in fact, not a cabinet, but a freezer, and a big one. It had lots and lots of ice cream containers. Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cherry, mango, peach, lime, grape, raspberry- lemonade, everything, even chocolate.

"Wow," Zane muttered. "You must like ice cream." Kuronu smiled. Zane decided to have blue berry, while Kuronu chose cherry.

As they ate, Kuronu could help but ask. "Why'd you stay home with me?" Zane looked at her, a bit surprised at the question. The weird feeling came back.

"I don't know." He admitted. The two stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. Kuronu then heard a door open, and then close. Kuronu looked out the hall.

"They can't be home, other wise we'd be hearing Jaden talking like heck about Yugi." The girl walked to the front door, but no one was there. No one was up the steps or anywhere. Zane came up behind her. "No one's here." She said quietly. A creepy feeling came over her. Maybe it was a robber or something.

"That's weird," Zane muttered.

"Yah, Kuronu agreed." She slowly followed Zane back to the kitchen.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone was now sitting at a large table. Joey on one end, Mai on the other. Yugi and Tea were sitting next to each other on one side with Jaden right across from him. Tishegie was sitting next to her father, and everyone else was there, but I don't feel like saying where everyone was, except that somehow Seto ended up next to Jaden.

"And then you summoned exodia, and man, that was awesome!" Jaden explained. He was describing in very good detail about how Yugi had beaten Kaiba the first time. "And the second time you dueled him, well, you lost, but he cheated! You should've won."

"It was to save Mokubah." Seto muttered. Yugi smiled, though he had the sweat drop.

"That's great, glad you're such a big fan," Yugi said. "Can we talk about something else now?" He glanced nervously at Kaiba. Joey was having a hard time not laughing. Mai, Meisha, and Tea were glaring at their husbands, well, at least Meisha and Mai were.

"And then in battle city, when u defeated Obelisk with slifer, man that was sweet." Jaden continued. Yugi sighed.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Smoke was now blowing out of Kaiba's ears.

After dinner, Alexis talked to Mai for a while as Meisha, Tea, Tishegie, Mindy, and Jasmine cleaned up the dinner plates. All the guys were in the living room. Yugi had finally gotten Jaden to stop talking about him.

"So you guys go to duel academy, huh?" Joey asked. "What dorms are ya in?"

"Slifer." Jaden said happily. Joey and Yugi looked at Kaiba, who had his elbow resting on the arm of the couch and his chin resting in the palm of his hand. He glared at the window.

"I'm a slifer too," Syrus admitted embarrassed.

"Slifer," Chumley replied. Chazz crossed his arms and glared at the wall.

"Slifer," Jaden replied for him.

"I was in obelisk, but then I got demoted to Ra, but then I left, and when I came back, the put me in slifer, ok?" Chazz spat. Joey and Yugi blinked.

"I'm in Ra," Bastion told them as he smirked at Chazz. It was in fact Bastions fault that Chazz was demoted to Ra. "And the three girls are in obelisk, and so is Zane."

"Uh, don't you mean the four girls?" Yugi asked.

"Four?" Syrus asked. "There is only Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine."

"What about Kuronu?" Kaiba asked. All the guys paled. Kuronu was a slifer, though no one in her family knew it. The three Kaiba's looked at them suspiciously.

"Ooooh, this is including Kuronu." Jaden said as he scratched the back of his head. "We though you meant just the people here. Ok then, the four girls are in obelisk." He lied. The three slifers (not including Chazz, he doesn't count himself as a slifer) laughed nervously.

"They're kinda weird, aren't they?" Joey asked. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"You have no idea." He said. "How Kuronu befriended them, I'll never know."

"How did you guys meet Kuronu?" Hiro asked. Everyone paled.

"Well," Jaden began. _Ok, I gotta lie, but Mr. Kaiba's pretty smart, so it'll have to be convincing. _"We just kinda ran into each other." He said. Syrus raised an eyebrow. Jaden discreetly nudged him in the ribs, indicating him to play along.

"Oh, yah. Kinda ran into us," He said. "literally." He smiled innocently. Everyone stared at them. Jaden was sure they had seen through the lie, they were doomed. Kuronu's secret would be reviled to all.

"Leave it to Kuronu to run into someone." Haru finally said. Kaiba rolled his eyes, though he was smirking. The students let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey Joey," Mai said, as she walked into the living room. "How about you guys get off your lazy butts, and come help us in the kitchen." She said sternly.

"Yes dear." Joey pretty much ran into the kitchen. Yugi got up and calmly walked out of the room. Mai glared at Kaiba.

"What?" He asked.

Meisha came and grabbed his ear and pulled him out of the room. "You would think that guys these days would be polite enough to help in the kitchen." She said as she pulled him away. Alexis laughed as she and the other girls walked in.

"Your parents are so funny together." Jasmine said to Maya. Maya laughed.

"That was sudden." Chazz said. Everyone laughed. Mindy then saw a picture sitting on a table. She picked it up. It was a picture of a guy, maybe about forteen. He had blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Oh, who's this guy?" She asked. "He's pretty cute."

Maya took the picture and looked at it. She smiled weakly. "This is my brother." She answered.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Alexis said. Maya sighed as she closed her eyes. She placed the picture on her lap and held it tightly.

"Yah, I had a brother." She said. Jaden looked at Haru, Hiro, and Tishegie, all of them had sad expressions on their faces.

"Had?" He asked quietly.

"Had." Maya answered. "He was hit by a car shortly after this picture was taken." She informed them.

"Maya, I'm sorry." Alexis said.

"You probably know the feeling of loosing an older brother also." Alexis frowned.

"Did you ever find Atticus?" Tishegie asked. Alexis slightly smiled.

"Yah, but he's unconscious right now. It's a long story." She replied.

"At least he's back." Tishegie said. Alexis nodded. There was a weird silence.

"One good thing came out of my brother's death though." Maya said. Everyone looked at her; all wondering what good thing could come out of someone's death. She smiled. "I met Haru for the first time really." She said, smiling at Haru. He blushed.

"How'd you meet him?" Mindy said. "I love love stories.

"I'm gonna help all the ancient ones in the kitchen." Haru said as he stood up and left the room. Tishegie and Hiro smirked evilly at each other.

"My brother died right around Christmas several years ago, the year before he went to the academy." Maya explained. "I was visiting my brothers grave after school, I was thirteen then.

_FLASHBACK_

_Maya sat on the hard, frozen ground in front of a large stone grave. It had her brothers name on it, along with when was born and when he died. It was drizzling. Tears rolled down her eyes. _

"_Hey," She heard someone say. She looked up and saw Haru Kaiba. He was in a black school uniform with a black umbrella over his head. She glared at him. They went to the same school, but never talked to each other, due to the fact that their fathers were rivals. _

"_What do you want, Kaiba?" He stared down at her. _

"_You really shouldn't be out here, you'll catch a cold."_

"_Go away." She said._

"_You should at least have an umbrella. It'd be a shame for such beautiful hair to be ruined by the rain." Maya glared at him._

"_Just shut up and go away!" She turned away, trying not to cry. When she looked back, he was gone. She looked at her brother's grave. "Why did you have to leave?" She whispered. A few minuets later she heard foot steps walking towards her. She glanced up at saw Haru. "What do you…"_

_He handed her a white rose and the umbrella. "Merry Christmas." He said as he smiled. Maya slowly took the rose and the umbrella. She stared at the rose for a while, and then when she looked back up he was gone again. She stood up and looked around. She glared at the rose. _

"_Jerk," She muttered as she walked back home._

_END FLASHBACK_

Mindy, Jasmine, Alexis, and Tishegie all had hankies out and were crying.

"That was so sad," Jasmine said.

"It seems to get sadder each time I hear it." Tishegie whispered. Alexis only sniffed and shook her head sadly, unable to speak.

"I love romantic stories like that!" Mindy bawled. "So cute, so romantic, so, so, touching."

The guys blinked. "Wow," Jaden said. "That was interesting, right Sy? Sy?" When he looked over Syrus also had a hankie out and was crying. "You've gotta bee kidding me."

"That was the sappiest thing I've ever heard." Chazz commented. The four girls whacked him over the head, Mayazakie smiled.

"Yah, it was kinda sappy, but sweet." Maya told them. "I still have the rose in my room, if you guys wanna see it." She told them.

"You still have it?" Jasmine asked.

"That's so sweet." Alexis said. Maya stood up and Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, and Tishegie followed.

"Please tell me you're not going." Jaden said to Syrus.

"No way, it wasn't that sad." Syrus said, stuffing the hankie back in his pocket. Haru poked his head around the door frame.

"Is it done yet?" He asked, blushing. Hiro pulled him down onto the couch, put him in a head lock sort of thing and gave him a nuggie.

"You know Haru, you can't act like that when you two get married." He teased.

"Who said anything about getting married?" Haru asked, trying to get free. "We're not even dating."

"That's just because you're not aloud, but given the chance, you'd run here, sweep her off her feet, and run away and get married." Hiro said.

"Who'd run away and get married?" They heard the cold voice of their father say. Everyone froze.

"Uh…" Hiro said, letting go of his twin brother. "Jaden and Alexis." He said, putting his arm around Jaden, who had turned a bright red.

"What are you-" He then looked at Kaiba's eyes, which were cold as ice. "Hehe, yah, me and Alexis…running away together…and getting married." He said. The other guys chuckled.

"Riiight," Kaiba said. He appeared to be in a bad mood. "We need to go now."

"I'll get the girls." Haru said as he stood up. As he passed his father, a shiver was sent down his spine. He knocked on Maya's door and opened it. The five girls were sitting on the floor. "We need to go now." He told them. His normal friendly attitude had completely disappeared.

"Oh ok, bye guys." Alexis said as the girls stood up.

"This was so cool; we have to meet up again." Mindy said excitedly.

"Definatly," Tishegie said. Tishegie walked the three girls down stairs, while Haru and Maya stayed behind. Haru walked over to a desk where a vase sat. A white, dried, withered rose was in it.

"Can't believe you kept it for this long." He whispered. "Especially by the way you treated me at the academy." He turned around and smirked at the blonde haired girl. She walked towards him.

"Some thing just told me to keep it." She told him. The two stared at each other for a while. Haru placed his hand on her cheek and began to lean down. Hiro burst through the door.

"Hey har…" He looked at both them. They looked at him with an annoyed expression on their faces. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked with a big smirk on his face.

"You know you are." Haru told him, half smiling. Hiro continued to smile as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Haru looked back at Mayazakie. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He then weakly smiled and walked out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu and Zane talked for a while as they ate their ice cream. They had plenty of snacks when they watched the movie, but there was always room for ice cream. Kuronu glanced down the hall. "Everyone will be back soon." Zane nodded. Kuronu chewed her lip as she debated on what she should say next. "I had a great time tonight." Zane smiled.

"So did I." Kuronu rested her elbow on the counter and her chin on her knuckle.

_Now what?_ She asked herself. _There's nothing left to talk about, meaning we're just gonna sit here in awkward silence for who knows how long. _"Sooooooooooooooooooooo," She began, though she had no idea what to say next. "I hope it snows soon." She said. Just as she said this, thunder was heard and rain began to pour down. Kuronu's jaw dropped. "I've cursed us." She muttered. Zane chuckled.

"I highly doubt it raining just now has anything to do with what you said." Zane comforted her. Kuronu smiled. She suddenly realized that it was almost Christmas, and she had no gifts for anyone.

"What do you like?" She asked. Zane looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, for like, Christmas presents and stuff. What do you like?" Zane pondered this.

"I don't really know." He admitted.

"What has your parents and Syrus gotten you over the past few years?"

"Duel cards." He said flatly.

"Oh," Kuronu muttered. _Cross out duel cards for Zane. _"What would you like?" Zane looked out the window for a while, thinking about her question. When looked at her again he smiled.

"Anything you get me I'll like." Kuronu slightly blushed.

_Man, I hate when people do that. It's sooo not helpful when figuring out what to get them._ "That's good." She said. "What does Syrus like?" Zane blinked.

"You don't have a present for anyone, do you?" He asked.

"Wha, uh, no, that's not it, uh," Zane laughed.

"Neither does anyone else." He told her. Kuronu smiled.

"I'll ask my mom if we can go shopping tomorrow." Zane was about to reply when the door opened, and in came a crowd of people.

"That was sweet!" They heard Jaden exclaim.

"Yah, we have to go back." Came Syrus' voice.

"And next time, I gonna duel him!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Then prepare to loose." Chazz told him. "He is Yugi Moto, king of games after all."

"I know, but I just want to see how I'll do against him. I know I could never win."

Haru and Hiro walked into the kitchen, both smiling their usual happy, troublesome smiles. "Hey sis," They said in perfect unison. Kuronu smiled. "Feeling better?" Kuronu nodded.

"Lots better," She told them.

"What'd you guys do this whole time?" Hiro asked.

"We watched a REALLY long movie." Kuronu told them. "Then had ice cream."

"That's it?" Haru asked.

"That's it." Zane told them. "How was your time at the Wheelers?"

"It was ok." Hiro said. "Jaden kept talking about Yugi the whoooooooooole time, and somehow dad ended up sitting next to him at dinner." Kuronu and Zane were silent.

"How'd that happen?" Kuronu asked.

"We have no idea." Hare said.

"All we know is that it was a baaaaaaaad thing." Hiro explained.

"Shut the hell up about Yugi Moto!" He shouted. Everyone paled. They then heard a loud 'whack!' followed:

"Don't speak to children that way!"

Kuronu banged her head on the counter. "Way to go Jaden." She muttered. Her mother walked into the kitchen. Her arms were crossed and she was frowning. She smiled when she saw Kuronu.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she put her hand on her daughter's forehead.

"I feel great." She said.

"Good. Now, I need to get your father away from Jaden before he murders him." And with that said, she left the room.

Hiro yawned. "Time for bed."

"Ditto," Haru agreed.

"Tell everyone I'll be up shortly, I want to finish my ice cream." Kuronu said.

"I'll wait down here with her." Zane told them. The two brothers raised an eye brow. Kuronu blushed.

"You don't have to do that," Kuronu said.

"I know." Zane told her. Haru and Hiro smirked as they left the room.

"I told you Jaden, you shouldn't talk about Yugi so much in front of Mr. Kaiba." Alexis scolded him as the group walked up stairs.

"Yah, he seemed pretty mad." Chumley said.

"Alright, alright. I'm just excited."

"Where's Kuronu and Zane?" Syrus asked. Everyone stopped.

"Kuronu's finishing her ice cream." Haru said as they walked up the steps.

"And Zane said he'd wait for her." Hiro completed.

"How interesting," Alexis whispered. Mindy giggled.

"What's interesting?" Hiro asked as he and his twin raised their eyebrows.

"Nothing," she told them. The shrugged and went to their rooms.

"She'll be up in a minuet." Haru called back to them.

"Well I'm not staying up till she's down flirting with Zane. I'm going to bed." Chazz said as he yawned.

"Good plan." Bastion agreed. Everyone began to walk back to their rooms, but Alexis grabbed Jaden's sleeve.

"What?" He asked.

"I want to go check out the Library." Alexis told him.

"Why?"

"Because Mayazakie told me about this awesome book series, and she said the Kaiba's would probably have it in their library." She explained.

"Ok, but why do I have to go?" Alexis looked down the hall in which they had to take. It was dark and creepy looking.

"Just because," She said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall. The walked for a few minuets, then finally came to the library door. Just as Alexis reached for the door handle, the lights went out. There was no light, except for the occasional flashing of lightning. Alexis looked down the hall. Lightning flashed. Alexis screamed and grabbed onto Jaden.

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"I saw someone." She said.

"It's probably just one of the Kaiba's coming to see if we're ok." He told her.

"It did not look like any Kaiba I know." Alexis whispered. The lightning flashed again, and this time someone was standing right in front of them. Both screamed.

From the faint lights from out side, Jaden could make out some of the features. It was a female. She had long black hair and ice blue eyes. Bandages covered the left side of her face. She had a sinister look in her right eye.

"Who are you?" She said. "And what are you doing in my house?" Alexis gulped. She suddenly knew who this was.

Authoresses note: Gasp! Who could it be? Mwahaha, I can't tell. Though it's probably really obvious. Ok, please review!


	25. shopping

Authoresses note: Ok, new chapter…this stinks, I was like, half way done the chapter, but when I tried to continue it, I couldn't open it and there was this whole error thing so now I have to write the WHOOOOOOOOLE chapter again! I do not want to do this. I want to move on….but I can't, so I must write, I must write for all my readers and for myself so that I can finally get this part done and over with…. I need a computer with internet in my room, or at least fix my computer's printer so I can type the chapters up there in peace and quiet, then give the chapter to my friend when I see her and she can just type it up and upload it…. Oh well, I might as well get this over with.

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Chapter 25: Shopping.

Kuronu blinked as the lights flickered back on. She looked around the room. Zane was on the floor, groaning as he rubbed his head. "Uh, Zane, what are you doing on the floor?"

Zane stood up. "Gee, I don't know."

_FLASH BACK_

"_ACK, the lights went out, the lights went out!" She began to wave her arms around._

_WHACK. "Ow," THUD._

"_Ow, my arm hit something really, REALLY hard!"_

_END FLASH BACK_

"Ooooooooooow… my bad."

Zane sighed. "Forget it, we should go up stairs." Kuronu nodded in agreement. The two walked upstairs, for the most part in silence. There was occasional talk of the shadow riders, and wondering what was happening at DA. Obviously nothing to bad because they hadn't received any sort of calls telling them to come back or anything. They arrived at the hall way where their rooms were.

"G'night." Zane said as he opened his bedroom door.

"Uh," Kuronu said quickly, though instantly regretted it when Zane turned to look at her, and she had no idea what to say next. "Ah, um…._ Oh great, now what? _Um, I uh, had a great time tonight." She said, her face turning a bright red. Zane nodded.

"I'm glad." With that he entered his room and closed the door behind him. Kuronu sighed.

"Wow," She muttered. "He's so awesome."

"What was that?" Kuronu froze. She slowly turned around, only to see her parents standing behind her.

"Ah….uh, uh, h-hi mom, dad, how was your night?" She asked. Her father looked away.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said. Kuronu blinked.

"Okkkkkkkkk…"

"Why's your face all read sweetie?" Her mother asked, though she had a smirk on her face.

"Um, it must be kind of hot in here." She told them.

"Do you still have a fever?" She put her hand on her daughter's forehead.

"U- Um, no, I don't think so…"

"Hm," Meisha pondered this. She then snapped her fingers. "I know what it is."

"You do?" Kuronu asked nervously.

"You do?" Seto asked skeptically.

"I do." She replied. She smirked an evil smirk. "You liiiike him." She said. Kuronu's face turned a deep, deep shade of red. Her father looked mortified. See, he hated any guy who showed interest in Kuronu, or guy Kuronu showed interest in.

"I- I do not." She said. Her mother laughed. "Mom, be quiet, or he'll hear you." She stopped laughing abruptly.

"You mean you don't intend to tell him?"

"Um,"

"You're going to keep your feelings for him bottled up inside for the rest of your life, and then when you're old you shall regret never telling him?"

"…" Was Kuronu and Seto's response.

"For shame Kuronu, for shame."

"That's not it!" She whispered. "I just don't want to tell him yet is all." She explained.

"Ooooooooooooooooh," Seto was still thinking of ways to kill Zane. "Just make sure you tell me when you tell him, that way if he breaks your heart I can beat him up to a bloody pulp." Meisha said happily. Kuronu's jaw dropped.

"That's my job." Seto whispered. Kuronu's jaw dropped to the floor. There was an awkward silence.

"Well, good night." Her mother said, smiling as she dragged Seto away. Kuronu stood there for a moment. _Great, my mom's gonna kill him if he breaks my heart, my dad's gonna kill him anyways._ She groaned as she opened her bed room door.

When she looked up, she saw Alexis sitting on her bed, with Mindy and Jasmine next to her. It seemed as though they were trying to comfort the blonde. Everyone else was around. "What's going on?" She asked. Everyone looked over at her. Alexis seemed really tense, as did Jaden.

"You were right Kuronu," Jaden said. "Your sister IS scary." Kuronu blinked.

**HALLWAY**

Meisha smiled and claped her hands together. "Aw, how sweet. Kuronu has a crush on Zane."

"Pht," Seto just mumbled some curses under his breath. The only thing Meisha could decipher was "Rip his head off and…" She laughed as she put her hand on the door to their room.

"Seto, you're way to over protective."

"So what if I am?"

The two then heard soft chuckles. "I always knew she was your favorite." Mallory was leaning against the wall. She had on a long, black trench coat.

"M- Mallory?" Her father stammered. "What…how?" She stood up straight and walked towards them.

"I got bored at the hospital so broke out. Then called a cab and had the poor loser drive me here." She explained. Both her parents didn't know what to say.

"Mallory…" Meisha whispered.

"You shouldn't be up walking around," Seto began to say.

"You're not the boss of me anymore. You haven't been for the last two years."

"I am as long as you live in this house, so if you don't like that, leave."

"Seto." Meisha murmured sternly. She looked back at her eldest daughter. "But he is right, you should rest." Mallory rolled her eyes.

"Stop pretending to be so worried."

"What's that supposed mean?" Seto asked. Mallory glared at them for several moments, and then walked past them and into her own room. Meisha let out a devastated sigh.

"Where did we go wrong?"

**KURONU'S ROOM.**

_FLASH BACK_

"_Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" she asked. _

"_I- I'm Alexis and this is Jaden, we're friends of Kuronu's. She invited us here for Christmas break." The obelisk girl explained. Mallory raised the eyebrow that wasn't covered by bandages._

"_I see, should've known that losers like you would be friends with a loser like her." She said. Her voice was cold and unfeeling. Not a hint of emotion could be heard. "Now, what are you doing trying to get into MY library?" _

"_Your library?" Alexis asked. "This library belongs to all the Kaiba's, not just you, and while we're here we have privilege to go into the library." _

_Mallory rolled her eyes. "This library belongs to all the Kaiba's, not just you, and while we're here we have privilege to go into the library.'" She mocked. Did Kuronu tell you that?" Neither answered. She chuckled. "Well I don't really care what that BEEP BEEP said._

_(A/N: Yah, the BEEP thing isn't what she actually said. It's a censored word.)_

_The young woman then pulled something out from behind her coat and pointed it at the two. Alexis nearly fainted. Jaden gulped. _

"_Is a gun really necessary?" Jaden asked nervously. _

"_No, but it's fun to use, and I do know how to use it, quite well actually. I've had LOADS of practice. Now, please leave, and I never want to catch you around here again, understood."_

"_Understood," The two said at the same time. Jaden grabbed Alexis's arm a dragged her away, she was a bit to freaked out to move by herself. _

_END FLASH BACK_

"I still can't believe that my brother had ever gotten close to her." Alexis said. Kuronu had completely forgotten about that.

"I still don't get why she got so worked up about a library, I mean, what's so great about it?" Jaden asked.

"Maybe she has some secret journal in there that tells about her alliance with a bunch of people who murder and steal and all that stuff and she's afraid we'll find it." Syrus wondered. Everyone heard crickets outside.

"Why are their crickets in the winter?" Chazz asked. Kuronu walked over to her door and opened it. Her brothers were there with an insect box thingy that had a cricket inside.

"What are you guys doing?" Kuronu asked.

"Did you know that Mallory was-"

"Yes." Kuronu said, and then slammed the door shut. "Any who, Syrus, that's completely insane. If Mallory DID have such a book, which she doesn't, she'd keep it in her room, wanna know why?" Syrus nodded. "Because Mallory's door has like, a gazillion different locks on the inside and a key pad hidden on the outside, meaning you need like, a gazillion combinations to open every single lock, it's a very complicated system. Then, if you did open the door, which the chance of you actually opening it is about fifteen percent, then there's an alarm that goes off as soon as the door opens an inch, though there is a key pad on the inside to turn it off, but Mallory's very good at picking combinations that no one would ever get.

But if you did get that, which you probably won't, mostly because you probably wont even open the door, there are all sorts of invisible lasers and such, hanging from the ceiling, and going across the floor and everywhere. There are various hidden key pads around the room to turn them off, but the chances of finding them and getting to them without touching a laser is slim to none." Kuronu explained.

"How do you know so much about her security system?" Bastion asked.

"Because this summer Haru and Hiro broke in after trying for many years and actually turned everything off with out getting caught…until they were leaving…"

"Anyways," Chazz said. "What's your sis doing home?"

"I don't know," Kuronu admitted. "But it doesn't really matter. I'll ask my parents if we can go shopping tomorrow for Christmas presents."

"Woo- hoo!" Jaden shouted. Kuronu smiled.

"Oh yah how was your night with Zane?" Mindy asked. Everyone looked at Kuronu anxiously.

"Um, it was ok."

"What do you mean ok?" Jasmine inquired.

"Um, we just kinda watched a REALLY long movie, and then had ice cream. Then when the lights went out, I freaked out and whacked Zane on the head.

"Of course," Chazz muttered.

Kuronu glared at him. "Where is Zane anyways?" Syrus asked.

"He went to bed." Kuronu told him. "Like what I'm gonna do." The tree girls got off of her bed and left the room with everyone else. Kuronu got on her pajamas and crawled under the covers. She turned flipped the light switch by her bed off.

The next morning Kuronu actually woke up on time, which disappointed her brothers because now they couldn't wake her up.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm." Kuronu stuck her tongue out at her them. "Your days of screaming stuff through a mega phone to wake me up are over."

"We'll just see about that." Haru said, glaring at his youngest sibling. The entered the dining room and sat down. Seto was doing stuff on his laptop while Mokuba peered over his shoulder which annoyed Seto a lot because he didn't like it when people read stuff over his shoulder.

"Can we go Christmas present shopping today?" Kuronu asked her mother, who smiled at her.

"Good idea, I've been trying to figure out when we should go,"

"You mean to tell me that you people didn't buy your presents until about a week before Christmas!" Jaden exclaimed. "What kind of people are you?" All the Kaiba's stared at him weirdly.

"We do that so Haru and Hiro have less time to search for all of their presents, and if they have less time to search, a less chance of them finding them and going through them all and such." Mokuba explained.

Mindy sighed. "He's so awesome," She said in a dazed voice. Alexis leaned over.

"Um, Mindy," She whispered. "He's like, in his late thirties." Mindy blinked.

"Oh…but he still looks so young!"

"He does doesn't he." Jasmine observed. "How do you do it?" She asked him. Everyone looked at her.

"Do what?" Mokuba asked.

"Stay so young looking, how do you do it?"

He smiled. "That's easy. I didn't get married or have kids." The three girls were dumbfounded.

"Anyways," Kuronu began. "So, when are we going?" Her mother looked at her wrist watch.

"Hm, I'd say…fifteen minuets."

"What!" Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, and Kuronu all shouted at once.

"I'm not even dressed!" Jasmine cried as the four girls ran up stairs.

"Girls," Hiro muttered under his breath.

Syrus looked around the table. He wondered where Mallory was, even though the answer was obvious. Still, as horrible as she sounded, he wanted to meet her, or, at least see what she was like. Just then, a tall woman with jet black hair and red high lights entered the room. She had on shorts with a blood red tank top and a black trench coat. Everyone stared at her.

"She actually came down for breakfast?" Haru asked aloud.

"Amazing."

"Shut it." She said as she whacked them both over the head as she walked by. She picked up a plate of sausage in one hand, the pancakes in the other, and she held the thing of syrup in her mouth, then turned around and exited the room. There was an odd silence.

"She took the pancakes." Chumley said with a hurt expression on his face. "Man, I only had five of them."

"She took the sausage too." Chazz complained.

"She's gotta eat some how." Kaiba told them as he closed his laptop. "Wait, she took the sausage?" Everyone nodded. "Darn it, I didn't get any."

"Who would've thought that Seto Kaiba would complain about not having any sausage." Meisha teased him. Zane, who had no idea what the heck just happened, was, for the first time in a very long time, confused.

"What's Mallory doing home?" He asked.

"Oh yah, that's right," Jaden said. "You weren't there."

"Mallory came home last night." Syrus explained, though in a lot less detail than what Zane had hoped for.

"Though the only ones who saw her last night were Jaden and Alexis." Chazz exclaimed.

"Anyways," Meisha said as she stood up. "You guys should get ready to go." They all nodded.

Once everyone was ready, they all went out side where a large limo awaited them. Well, a large limo and a motor cycle. "Who rides the bike?" Chazz asked, admiring it.

"That would be me." Mokuba responded as he picked up the helmet. Mindy and Jasmine nearly fainted.

"He even rides a motorcycle." Jasmine sighed.

"Oh brother." Alexis murmured.

"Oh come on Lexi," Mindy said. "Even you've gotta admit it's hot." Alexis just blushed.

"I sure would!" Kuronu exclaimed. "If he wasn't my uncle, that is." So Mokuba zoomed off on his awesomely cool motorcycle while everyone else crowded into the limo.

Once they arrived at Domino square, Kuronu's parents went off one way, while her brother went off another, leaving the academy students. "So, where shall we go first?"

"The game shop!" Jaden said excitedly.

"Yah!" Syrus agreed.

"No, you just saw Yugi last night, let's go somewhere else." Chazz argued.

"Oh, let's go to that really big, expensive jewelry store over there!" Mindy suggested.

"Um, maybe you didn't hear yourself." Alexis began. "Big, expensive. Something tells me you couldn't afford anything in there." Mindy sighed.

"Your right. But it's still fun to look." Kuronu looked at the group.

_We're never going to get anything done with so many people wanting to go to so many places._ "I have an idea. We'll split up into groups, go our separate ways, than meet up back here in lunch time, then go somewhere super awesome for lunch."

"Sounds good to me." Bastion said.

"Ok then, um, Jaden, Syrus, Zane, Alexis, and I will go in one group." Kuronu said. "And Bastion, Chazz, Mindy, Jasmine, and Chumley will go in another."

"Cool," Jaden said.

"Looks like you're picking favorites to me." Chazz murmured.

"Actually, I just kinda split the group in half. You and your group were in a cluster, and then my group was in a cluster." She explained.

"Your group?" Jaden asked. "Why's it your group?"

"Um…"

"Let's just get going." Alexis said. So they all went off.

"I'm not going to any girly stores, computer stores, or food stores though." Chazz shouted.

"When where are we going to go?" Bastion asked. Chazz glared at him.

"Ok, where are we going to-"

"Game shop." Jaden and Syrus said together. Kuronu sighed. "Ok, let's go."

**GAME SHOP**

As the neared the game shop, Kuronu cell phone rang. "You guys go ahead, I'll be right there." She told them.

There were a few kids around looking at different cards, but just a few. There was also a boy behind the counter. He had black hair and blonde bangs, and very pretty blue eyes. He didn't look much younger than them, though he looked really bored.

"Excuse me," Jaden said as he walked up to the counter. The boy looked annoyed. "Is Yugi here?" Now he was glaring at Jaden.

"Look kid, Yugi's a celebrity ok; you can't just go to his house and expect to see with without a cost. So if you're not here to buy cards, get out." Jaden was a bit surprised.

"Ok, ok, sorry." He walked over to the shelf Syrus was looking at. "Some one woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Zane looked over at the 'kid', who looked over at Zane. They both glared at each other, thus a staring contest began. But the black haired kid's glare was no match for Zane superior glare. Zane smirked. _Now I know who this id is._

"Hey guys," Kuronu said as she entered the shop. "My mom just wanted to know some stuff." She then noticed the boy at the counter and smiled. "Hey Kiyo." She said. The boy, Kiyo, blushed and looked away from her.

"Oh, hey Kuronu." Jaden's jaw dropped.

"You know this guy!" He asked. Kiyo looked at the two.

"You know this loser?" Kiyo asked. Kuronu was confused.

"Yes, and yah, but he's not a loser. This is Jaden Yuki…didn't you guys meet last night?" Now everyone was confused, except Zane.

"Why would we meet him last night?" Alexis inquired. Kuronu blinked.

"Um…guys, this is Kiyo Moto, Yugi's son." Everyone's jaw dropped, except Zane's because he had already figured it out because he's smart like that. "Kiyo, weren't you there last night?"

"There…oh, right, right, the wheelers," He murmured. "No. Sakura and I were at my grandparents, snooze fest." He explained.

"But, your grandpa lives here, at the game shop, so why wouldn't…" Syrus began to ask.

"My grandparents on my moms' side." He explained.

"Ooooooooooooooooh," Syrus and Jaden said together.

"Ok, well, these are my academy friends, Jaden, Syrus, Alexis, and Zane. There's a bunch more, but we split up into two groups." Kuronu told him.

"Ok, but now I have a question for you. Obviusly you weren't at the Wheelers last night since you didn't know I wasn't there. Where weren't you there?" Kiyo asked.

"I was sick." Kuronu told him. "So Zane stayed home with me." At this she blushed.

Kiyo blinked. He wasn't one of those guys who was totally clueless when someone liked someone. He had two sisters, so to him, it was completely obvious to him that Kuronu had a major crush on this 'Zane' guy. "I see," He managed to say.

"Well, you guys should buy what you want to buy, and then we need to go." Kuronu told him. Jaden and Syrus began looking at all the cards.

"So, you having fun at the academy?" Kiyo asked.

'Hm? Oh yah. It's awesome. I can't wait till you go next year, then it'll be really fun." She replied.

"Besides all those fan girls that'll be following me around everywhere. I don't know how you're still alive Kuronu."

"Yah…" The truth was, Kuronu's real identity hadn't been known for that long, so she hadn't really gotten a chance at all the adoring fans chasing her everywhere. Well, there was that one time, but that was pretty much it because she usually disguised herself.

Zane noticed a card and went over to examine it. Syrus went up to the counter with a pack of cards and handed it to Kiyo so he could pay for it. "Shh," Syrus whispered. "Don't let my brother know." He indicated his head towards Zane.

_This kid, this…shrimp who's older than me, yet shorter is the younger brother of THAT guy…_ Kiyo put the cards in a small bag and handed it to the blue haired kid.

"Hm," Jaden thought. _I should really be getting cards for the others, but this card…it's so awesome, maybe I could just buy one card for myself…but maybe Syrus would like, maybe I should give it to him…or maybe even Kuronu, but it's just so cool._

"Coming Jaden?" Alexis asked as the other headed for the door. Jaden sighed as he walked over. As Syrus reached for the door, it slammed open, sending Syrus back against the wall behind the door. A girl with short brown hair and shoulder length bangs stood there. She had bright purple eyes and was smiling.

"Hey bro." She said happily. Kiyo sunk behind the desk. The girl then noticed Kuronu. "Hey Kaiba, what's up?"

"Hi, hi Sakura." Kuronu said. "Not much, and I told you, just call me Kuronu."

"No can do. See, our fathers are rivals, so that means we gotta be rivals too."

"No…we don't…"

"Whatever," The young girl walked over to the counter. The door began to swing close, reveling a very crushed Syrus behind it.

"That…hurt…" he mumbled as he slid off the wall.

"So what' cha guys doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Christmas present shopping," Kuronu answered.

"Oh," She smirked evilly at her brother. "Hey Kiyo, I can watch the shop if you want to go out with Kuronu." Kiyo blushed.

"What, why would I want to go out on a date with Kuronu?" Everyone blinked, Sakura laughed.

"Fool," She said, though she still sounded happy and preppy. "I meant go and hang out with her."

"Oh…I knew that."

"Sure ya did." Kiyo walked over to where Kuronu was.

"Awesome," She said. "This is gonna be fun. Bye Sakura." Kuronu said as she exited the shop.

"Shouldn't you wear a hat or something?" Alexis asked Kiyo.

"Why would I wear a hat?"

"Well, you're the son on Yugi Moto, so I thought you might want to have a disguise or something so people wouldn't recognize you." Kiyo didn't respond at first.

"Don't worry, no one will recognize me." He finally said. They went to several other shops, and then sat down on a bench to rest.

"I'm tired." Alexis said.

"I hope Zane likes what I got him." Syrus whispered.

"What'd you get him?" Kuronu asked, also whispering.

"A pack of cards." He whispered back. Kuronu blinked. "What, you don't think he'll like it?"

"Well…" She scratched the back of her head.

"Oh great," Syrus stood up and began to run off."

"Where are you going?" Zane asked. He was sitting the furthest away from Syrus, so didn't hear.

"I, um, have to go return something." He shouted back.

"Be careful."

"And who says you don't care about your little brother?" Alexis said to him, smiling.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Can we go somewhere else now?" Chazz asked impatiently.

"Hang on, just one more shirt." Mindy said.

"Or two." Jasmine corrected.

Bastion, Chumley, and Chazz glared at the two girls as they piled more clothes into their arms. "How are you going to pay for it?" Bastion asked.

"Don't worry; I have my mom's credit card." Jasmine answered as she tossed another pair of jeans onto her pile.

"I told you we shouldn't have gone in here." Chazz whispered to Bastion.

"Note to self, never take a girl into a clothing store." Bastion murmured.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Syrus ran through the game shop door and up to the counter. He was breathing heavily.

"Hey there," Sakura said cheerfully. She was sitting on the counter top. "You're that kid with Kuronu, right?"

"Yah, I bet you know who I am." Syrus mumbled. His nose still hurt. "I need to return something." He said. He handed her the pack of cards.

"Hey, this is one of the good packs. Why are you returning it?" Syrus asked.

"Well, it was for my brother, but Kuronu doesn't think he'd like. Come to think of it, that's all anyone really gives him for presents."

"Bummer. You can't give the pack to some else than? The brown haired dude seemed to like these cards." Syrus banged his head on the counter. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Um…kinda."

"Oh, sorry." The girl looked at him as he stood there with his forehead pressed against the counter edge. "You're going to have a big red line across your forehead, you know that?" Syrus nodded. "Ok then…so um, who's your bro?" Syrus looked up.

"Zane," He replied.

"You mean Tall, dark and hot?" She said, giggling.

"Yah, him…I guess. He's an awesome duelist, best duelist in the school, but mom says I have all the looks." Syrus told her. Sakura laughed.

"You're funny." She said. "And I'm guessing you're a freshman at the academy?"

"Yah." Syrus replied.

"Cool. Kiyo's going to the academy next year, and then I get to go the year after." She told him.

"That's cool. So I'll be a senior that year…that's weird trying to imagine myself as old as Zane…" Syrus said, looking down.

"Let me guess, you feel inferior to your brother, like he's always going to be better than you and you'll only be known as his little brother for the rest of your life, am I correct?" Syrus's jaw dropped.

"Y- yah…how did you-"

"My mom says that if the dueling thing doesn't work out, I could be a psychiatrist." She said. "So, you still wanna return this?"

Syrus looked at the pack of cards. "Nah, I'll give them to Jaden or something, he'll like for sure."

"Ok, see ya later then." Sakura said as he exited the shop. Syrus sighed. Now I gotta run all the way back to the others. I just hope I don't get lost.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"We should probably start heading over to the square now. It's almost twelve o'clock." Bastion said.

"But we didn't get anyone anything." Mindy said.

"Well maybe if you guys hadn't spent so much time at the clothe store!" Chazz shouted. He, Bastion, and Chumley each had three bags. The three guys glared at the two girls.

"Yah, I'm all out of money anyways." Jasmine said. It had cost her several hundred dollars to pay for all her clothes, and Mindy's.

"I hope Alexis isn't to mad that we didn't get her anything." Mindy said as the five began to walk down the street.

"She'll understand." Jasmine reassured her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe you didn't get anyone anything." Alexis scolded the two girls. "So you spent all your money and all your time picking clothes out? Unbelievable."

"Maybe we can give you one of our shirts?" Mindy suggested.

"Two of our shirts?" Jasmine asked. Alexis didn't reply. Jasmine than pulled out a white silk shirt with a red flower design on it. Alexis gasped. "It's all yours."

"Ok," Alexis said excitedly.

"Girls," Chazz mumbled as he sat down.

"So where are we going for lunch?" Chumley asked. Kuronu pointed to an Italian restaurant across the street.

"I love Italian food!" Mindy exclaimed.

"That place is awesome. It's really fancy." Kuronu told them. And it was. None of them had ever been to such an upscale place. After lunch Kiyo went home and they called the limo driver and had him drive them home.

"Well, that was a fun day." Kuronu said.

"Besides the part where we didn't get a single thing, it was awesome." Chazz said sarcastically.

"At least you had a good lunch." Jaden said.

"A really good lunch." Syrus agreed.

_Ok,_ Kuronu thought to herself. _I got a present for Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, Chazz, Chumley, Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, Haru, Hiro, Mom, Dad, Mokuba, even Mallory, Kiyo, Sakura…who am I missing?_ Her face paled.

"What wrong?" Syrus asked.

"…Oh my gosh!" She screamed.

"What?" Jaden asked.

_I can't believe it, I forgot Zane's gift! Arg, I'm so stupid!_ She began to bang her head on the banister.

"Now what's your problem?" Kuronu looked up and Saw her sister leaning on the railing up the steps.

"Mallory." Kuronu whispered, glaring at her sister. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just hear a loud, hideous sounding noise and came to see what it was, but it was just you." She replied, not even smiling once in that sentence. She then turned around and left.

"And to think I got her a Christmas present." Kuronu mumbled. She then remembered her dilemma. _I didn't get Zane a present, he'll think I hate him, what should I do, what should I do… I know, I'll call Haru and Hiro and have them get something for me._ She pulled out her cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Chazz asked her.

"I need to call my brothers." She said. She dialed Haru's cell phone number and waited as it wrung.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Hi Haru,"

"Oh hey sis, what's up?"

"You sound close." Just then her brother entered the room from the kitchen.

"Yah well," He then saw them. "Oh hey," He hung up his phone as Kuronu did so. "What' cha need sis?" He asked.

Kuronu stared at him. "Nothing. Is Hiro home?" Her brother nodded. "Great." She then sulked up stairs. _Hold it! I can call uncle Mokie! _She pulled out her cell phone again.

"Now who're you calling?" Jaden asked.

"My uncle," She replied.

"Uncle's home too," Hiro said as he stood next to his brother.

"Ok then,"

"So are mom and dad, everyone's home." Haru told her. Kuronu closed her phone and sulked up stairs again.

"She's morbid." Hiro commented.

"Yah, she's turning into a minnie Mallory." Everyone shivered at this.

"I heard that!" Kuronu shouted from upstairs. "And I am NOT turning into a minie Mallory!"

"Ew," They heard Mallory shout. "How dare you compare me to that twerp!"

Everyone blinked as the two sisters began to shout insults at each other from opposite ends of the house.

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?" Kaiba bellowed. Then there was silence.

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Ok, you people just read through 17 pages of them shopping. YAY! Yah, I'll try to speed things up. Please review, no harsh flames.


	26. behold the pop star

Authoresses note: Yayayayayay, new chapie! Ok, thanks sooooooo much for your reviews, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and believe me, I don't feel like that very often.

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Chapter 26: Behold the pop star

Mindy burst into Kuronu's bedroom, screaming and jumping up and down.

"Guess who is coming today!" She asked excitedly.

"The police," Kuronu began. "And they're here to arrest Mallory because she does drugs?"

"Your sister does drugs too!" Syrus asked in disbelief. Everyone stared at her. Kuronu shrugged.

"It's possible, I mean, look at all the other stuff she does. She threatens people with a gun."

"Anyways, no! That's not who's coming."

Alexis pondered her question. "Kianna Ishtar." She said. Mindy smile broadened.

"Yes! Kianna's coming today!" She let out another fan girl scream. "This is going to be so cool, I'm gonna meet Kianna in person!" She then happily jumped out of the room."

"She seems excited." Jaden commented.

"Nah, just a little." Chazz said sarcastically.

"This will be interesting though." Bastion thought aloud.

"I wonder what she's like." Kuronu wondered.

"Guess we'll just have to wait and find out." Jaden told her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I still don't get why they couldn't have just stayed in Egypt." Seto whined.

"Because," Meisha began. "Kianna had a concert in Tokyo and it didn't make sense to come all the way over here, and then go all the way back without even saying hi." She explained.

"Then why couldn't they just say 'hi' and then say 'bye'?"

Meisha groaned. "You're impossible." Seto didn't respond for several minuets.

"What time are they coming?" He asked reluctantly.

"Some time after lunch." Seto looked at his watch. It was already nine forty five, meaning he only hade about three hours and fifteen minuets.

As he walked down the stairs, maids were all over the place hanging up Christmas decorations. There was a big Christmas tree in the living room, and Haru and Hiro were helping decorate it.

Meisha then smiled. "What?" Seto asked her, wondering if he really wanted to know.

"I was just thinking about how cute Kuronu and Zane were together." She replied. Kaiba winced. He was right to wonder if he wanted to know or not, and he was now wishing that he didn't know. "Wouldn't it be soooo kawaii if we got them to stand under mistletoe?" Seto froze. She had that look again. A look as though she was planning something so evil, so sinister, it would make the most evil of evils tremble in fear.

"What if-" She began.

"No." Seto said sternly.

"But if I were to merely-"

"No, no match making."

"But-"

"Nah-"

"If-"

"No-"

"Please-"

CRASH.

The Christmas tree went toppling to the ground. Haru and Hiro stood there, with those 'oops' looks that they had pretty much 24/7. The slowly turned around, only to gaze into the face of their ever so irritated father. They smiled guiltily.

"Eh- heh," Hiro said.

"We'll just be going." And the two twins sped off.

Everyone around looked at the fallen tree. "I never really liked it anyways." Meisha said. Seto whacked his forehead.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Mallory sighed as she lay on her bed. _Great, _she thought to herself. _I'm going to be stuck in the same house as my BEEP BEEP family, the twerp's twerpy friends, and a BEEP preppy pop star for the next few days…my life is over. _She let out another sigh then stared at the ceiling. She then looked out the window as rain poured down from the sky. It had pretty much been raining non stop for several days. "Everything seemed so much more cheerful when you were around." She murmured. She grabbed a cigarette from table next to her bed and lit it. "Atticus…"

XXXXXXXXX

"I just thought of something." Alexis wondered aloud. She, Kuronu, Mindy, and Jasmine were walking down the halls. "Well, does Mallory know that Atticus is my older brother?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kuronu asked.

"Well, Zane said that they were…" She gulped. "close." The thought of her brother being 'close' with her scared the heck out of her. Kuronu blinked.

"Oh yah…I'm guessing she doesn't." the Kaiba told her.

"What'd you think she'll do when, or, if she finds out?" Jasmine wondered. Kuronu shrugged.

"Go all weird…er, and hide in her room, trying to figure out wonder what the point of her existence is?" Mindy thought. The other three looked at her.

"Nah, she does that already." Kuronu told her.

"You know sometimes I feel bad for her." Jasmine said.

"Why?" Kuronu asked, totally bewildered.

"Well, she wasn't like this before Atticus disappeared, right?"

"Sorta. She always had that attitude, but then one day, bam, she had black hair, red highlights and she was meaner than ever."

"Yah, well, she must have really liked him then. Without him, she probably felt empty, broken, like the person she loved most, and, as she most likely felt, the only person who loved her was gone, thus no reason to live or be happy." Jasmine said. The other tree stared at her. She blushed. "Sorry, I've been reading too many tragedy/ romance novels."

"I'll say," Alexis said as they continued to walk.

_She's right. _Kuronu thought to herself. _That must be how she feels. And I thought she was the horrible one._

Several hours past. They spent the rest of the morning looking at all the Christmas decorations that had been put up and playing video games and such. Finally, three o'clock came, which was the assumed time the 'ever so wonderful' pop star, according to Mindy, would arrive.

The academy students were hanging out in the game room, when Mindy ran in, squealing and jumping up and down. "Mindy, what's wrong?" Alexis asked. The girl only continued to jump and squeal.

"Let me guess, Kianna's here?" Chazz inquired. The obelisk nodded, and then jumped out of the room and down the hall. "Well, we might as well go see what the big deal is." Chazz suggested. Everyone nodded.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mokuba!" A tall woman- though shorter than Seto and Mokuba- Wrapped her arms around the man's neck. "I have missed you so much." She said. She had long, dark brown hair and grayish blue eyes. Mokuba smiled.

"As have I." He replied. She then looked at Seto.

"Oh, hey there Seto."

Seto glared at her."Karma."

Mokuba and Meisha both rolled their eyes as the two step cousins glared at each other.

"Hey Mokie, waz up?" Mokuba looked over at the blonde haired man.

"Marik ma man, How ya been?" The two high fived. The Egyptian then walked over to Meisha and kissed her on the cheek.

"How's life with workaholic?" he asked half laughing.

"Wonderful." She replied. Seto shifted his glare towards Marik.

"Marik." He said disdainfully.

Marik returned the glare. "Kaiba."

"Any new plans of taking over the world?" Seto inquired.

Marik laughed, then stopped abruptly and glared at him. "No." He replied.

Then, a young girl with dirty blonde hair and purple eyes entered the room. She was talking with some man. "Yah, I'll go check out the stage tomorrow." She said. The man nodded and left, closing the front door behind him.

"You must be Kianna." Meisha said as she looked at her. The young girl smiled.

"The one and only." Mindy then came hopping down the steps, squealing her fan girl squeal. She jumped over to the pop star and held up a CD case. "Of course I can sign it. You have a marker or something?" Mindy held up a marker. Kianna signed her name and smiled. "Anything for my fans." She then looked at the Kaibas. "And I have a lot of them, if I do say so myself." Kuronu and the others then walked down the steps. Alexis whacked Mindy over the head.

"Would you calm down already?" Karma ran over to Kuronu and hugged her.

"You must be Kuronu." Kuronu smiled.

"Yah, that's me." She was a little freaked out by the fact that a person she had never seen in her life was hugging her.

"Ah, Seto, she's like a minnie you, only way better looking." She added. Seto glared at her.

"Um, thanks." Kuronu said. "I think."

"Kuronu, this is your father's cousin," Meisha began.

"Step cousin." Seto corrected. Mokuba and Karma rolled their eyes.

"Yah, whatever, this is Karma, Marik, and Kianna." Meisha said.

"Wow," Kianna said as she walked over. "never thought that I would've been somehow distantly related to the daughter of a multi millionaire."

"And I never would've thought that I'd be distantly related to a pop star." Kuronu said. They shook hands, both smiling weirdly. "Yah, anyways, these are my friends from the academy." She indicated to the group of people behind her.

Before she could say anything else, Haru and Hiro came running down the steps. "Oh my gosh, it's Kianna!" Hiro said jumping up and down.

"Can I have your autograph?" Haru said. They both had raised the pitch of their voices so they sounded 'girly'. Karma and Marik's jaws dropped.

"These are your sons?" Karma asked.

"Nope, never seen them in my life." Seto lied.

"Hey, you should see our sister." Hiro told them.

"Now she's really something." Haru agreed.

"Well, they sorta look like you." Marik said as he looked them over.

"Are you Marik Ishtar?" Haru asked excitedly.

"Um…"

The two boys each took one of his hands and shook it. "We love your work." Hiro told him.

"That whole thing in battle city, man, it was great."

Zane came up behind him. "Let me remind you he tried to take over the world." His voice was calm; though it was quite clear he was slightly annoyed.

"I know, wasn't it great?" Hiro asked him.

"To bad Yugi ruined it." Haru said.

"Yah, Yugi ruins everything."

"I'll agree to that." Seto said eagerly.

"Are you STILL mad at Yugi for beating you and taking away your title as the world's best duelist, and than totally humiliated you in battle city, your won tournament?"

Seto's eye twitched. "Of course not, I've completely gotten over it." He said.

"Anyways…" Marik said. "Who are your friends?"

"Jaden Yuki." Jaden said enthusiastically.

"Syrus Truesdale."

"Chumley Huffington."

"Chazz Princeton."

"Bastion Misawa."

"I'm Jasmine."

"I'm Mindy."

"Alexis Rhodes."

Everyone looked at Zane. "And our buddy Zane." Haru and Hiro said as they both wrapped their arms around his neck. Zane twitched.

"You guys are queer." Kianna said. They smiled.

"Why thank you." They said in unison.

"You guys know that means something else now?" Zane asked. They looked at him.

"What?" They asked.

Zane rolled his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Mallory lay on her bed. She then heard a loud growling sound. Her face paled. "Maybe I should've eaten breakfast." She groaned. She got up and walked out into the hall. As she walked to the staircase, she heard people talking.

"I'm Jasmine." The red head said. _Looks like the twerp's introducing her friends._ She thought to herself.

"I'm Mindy."

"Alexis Rhodes." Mallory froze. She stared down at the blonde haired girl. _Rhodes? _She then remembered.

_FLASH BACK_

_Mallory walked over to the obelisk freshman. He was sitting under a tree writing something down on a piece of paper. He looked up and smiled at her. "Hey there, Mallory."_

"_Why are you always so cheerful?" _

"_Why shouldn't I?"_

"…"

"_You don't have an answer." He teased._

"_Shut it Rhodes." She noticed a picture of a small girl next to him. "Who's she?" She asked. Atticus looked down at the picture and smiled. _

"_My little sis, Alexis. She's about the same age as your sister." He explained. "Meaning they'll probably go to the academy together." Mallory smirked as she sat down next to him._

"_Fine, just don't blame me if she turns into a loser due to hanging out with Kuronu so much." Atticus chuckled._

"_Some how I have a feeling they'll be good friends."_

_ONE YEAR LATER_

_Atticus smiled happily as he walked down the side walk. He had a small box in his hand. "Hey Rhodes!" He heard someone call him. He looked over and saw Mallory running towards him. _

"_Hi Mallory." _

"_What's that?" She asked, looking at the box. Atticus smiled as he opened it. A necklace with a silver chain was inside. Hanging from the chain were two silver dolphins with their noses and tails touching, forming a circle in the middle. In the middle was a small pink marble type circle, only smaller and prettier._

"_It's a birthday present for my sister." He explained as Mallory examined it._

"_She must be pretty special for you to get a twelve year old something so expensive looking."_

"_Yah, Alexis means the world to me. If something ever happened to her, I don't know what I'd do."_

_The Kaiba smirked. "She's lucky to have a big brother like you."_

"_Hey sis!" Haru and Hiro stopped when they saw the two together. "Oh, sorry 'bout that." Hiro said._

"_We'll let you guys have more alone time."_

_Mallory glared at them as walked off smirking at each other. "Get back here you losers!" Atticus smiled as he watched the twins scream and run away while Mallory chased after them._

_END FLASHBACK_

_I can sorta see the resemblance. _She thought as she watched her two brothers. She then walked back up stairs.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, you guys make yourselves at-" Meisha began to say.

"Awesome, I'm starving." Kianna said. "The kitchens in there, right?" Everyone nodded. "Sweet."

Marik and Mokuba set off for the garage, talking about various motorcycles and cars and such. Meisha and Karma went upstairs because Karma wanted to a tour due to the fact that she hadn't been at the house in ages. Haru and Hiro went to the kitchen to also get some food, leaving Kaiba and the 'kids' alone.

"Seto, play with the kids, will ya?" Meisha told him as she and Karma ascended the stairs. He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by 'play'?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ready or not, here I come." Seto grumbled as he leaned against the wall. He, Seto Kaiba, the rich and powerful CEO of Kaiba corp, was playing hide and seek with a bunch of teenagers…that acted like kids. When he turned around he saw Chazz, Bastion, and Zane leaning on the wall opposite of him.

"You guys are supposed to hide you know." He told them.

"The Chazz doesn't play 'hide and seek'." Chazz told him.

"Ditto." Zane and Bastion said in unison.

"Well, then help me find the others."

"The Chazz-" Seto glared at him with his world famous- well, maybe not world famous- Kaiba glare. "Will help you find the others." Chazz finished. Bastion and Zane just shrugged as they each set off in a different direction.

Chazz went downstairs. Bastion went to the East wing of the house, and Zane to the west. Kaiba just leaned against the wall, smirking at his evilness. Let the 'kids' do the work for him. He truly was a genius.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"He's gone soft." Chazz muttered as he searched through a closet. "If I was him, I would've said no to playing hide and seek and let them cry their eyeballs out with caring."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jaden and Syrus giggled. "No one will ever find us here." He whispered to Syrus, Alexis, and Kuronu. The two girls glared at him. The four were all squished in a cabinet.

"It's too cramped." Alexis whispered back. "We're playing that the person has to tag us right? Well, we won't be able to run away if we're all in here so we'll get tagged!" She hissed. Syrus and Kuronu looked at each other, and then smiled evilly.

"Good point." Kuronu said.

"So we'll leave, and you guys stay here." Syrus said. The two opened the door and climbed out.

"Wait," Alexis began, but they had closed the cabinet and left. She looked over at Jaden who shrugged.

"Well, this awkward, being squashed in a cabinet with you and all." Jaden said.

"You have no idea." Alexis groaned, her face turning slightly red. _I'm gonna kill those guys._

"Oh well, at least we have more leg room."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu and Syrus high fived each other. They then saw Chazz. Kuronu and Syrus stared at Chazz who stared at them.

"Let me guess," Kuronu began. "You're helping my dad." Chazz smirked.

"Yep." Syrus screamed as Chazz grabbed his arm. Kuronu ran back into the kitchen, with Chazz close behind her. She ran into the dinning room, where Kianna, Haru, and Hiro were eating. The three stared at them as Chazz chased her around the table several times. Kuronu then hit a part of the wall and a door appeared. She ran through the door and closed it.

Chazz banged on the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't. "Where does that door lead?" He asked the two Kaiba twins.

"Upstairs, west wing of the house, by Kuronu's room." Haru told him. Chazz ran out of the room and up stairs.

Kianna blinked. "What was that about?" She asked. The two boys shrugged.

"Maybe she took his nose." Hiro suggested. The other two looked at him weirdly. "You know, the got your nose thing?" They only continued to stare. "Never mid."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Chumley smirked. "They'll never find me here."

"Found you." Bastion said as he tagged him on the shoulder.

"Oh man." She climbed out from underneath the piano that was in an empty room except for a few chairs that had white sheets over them.

"Go back to the top of the stair case." Bastion told him.

"Hey, I thought Mr. Kaiba was it."

"He is, but Zane, Chazz, and I are helping." The genius explained.

"Darn." Chumley muttered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kaiba smirked as Chumley approached. Syrus, Mindy, and Jasmine were all sitting around him. Then Zane came over. "Aren't you supposed to help us?" He asked.

"I'm watching the prisoners." Kaiba explained. Zane raised an eyebrow. Bastion and Chazz also came over.

"But they can't get 'freed' or whatever if that's what you're thinking." Bastion told him.

"Nah, I'm thinking he's thinking that he thinks he can just stand here and let us find them." Chazz said as he came back from the west wing, quite out of breath.

_Aw, crap._ Seto thought to himself. "Why do the three smartest of the bunch have to be the ones who don't play?" He then looked at Chazz. "Well, one of them is just a smart-alecky." Chazz snorted.

"Anyways," Bastion began. "The only people left now are Jaden, Alexis, and-"

"Kuronu." Chazz said disdainfully. "Next time she won't escape that easily."

"I'm going to go look down stairs. That's probably where Jaden and Alexis are." Bastion told them as he began to descend down the marble staircase. "Zane, Chazz, stay up here and look for Kuronu, we know she's up here somewhere."

"Probably just sitting in that secret passage way." Chazz muttered.

"Secret passage way?" Kaiba asked. "My house has secret passage ways?" Chazz and Zane stared at him.

"Wow, having kids really does deteriorate your mind." Chazz muttered. Zane slowly nodded.

"What? No one told me about them." Seto explained. "Most likely Haru and Hiro discovered them and only told Kuronu." He scratched his chin. "That must be why when ever I hear a crash, there's no one there."

"Probably." Zane agreed.

"Urh, who knows how many of those passage ways there are." Chazz grumbled. Bastion then came up with Alexis and Jaden behind him.

"That's the bad thing about hiding down stairs." Bastion said. "Not many laces to hide."

"I told you we should've gone somewhere else." Alexis whispered to Jaden.

"Now we just need to find Kuronu." Chazz said, again, disdainfully.

Zane set off for the west wing. That was the most likely place for her to be.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu snuck out of the door to the passage way. You could only open this one from the inside, so once she closed it, there was no getting back in. She was right around the hall where her bedroom was. _I wonder how many people have been found. _Walked down the hall a little more, no one was in site. She then tripped over the rug, knocking over and table. She froze as it hit the floor with a loud thud. "Well, at least there were no vases on it." She muttered as she set the table up right. "Maybe I'll just go hide in my room." She began to turn around.

"Hm, that's a good idea." She heard someone say. As she turned around she saw Zane standing there.

"Hehe, hey Zane." She said as she slowly backed away. "You know, maybe this once you can let me go, just to keep the game going longer."

"I'd rather end it as soon a possible." He told her. "You're the last person left."

Kuronu smiled. "You mean, I won!"

"I guess."

The two stood there for a moment. Kuronu knocked over the table as Zane began to run after her. She also ran. Zane jumped over the fallen table, but tripped over the carpet, just as Kuronu had. As he fell he reached out to grab Kuronu. He grabbed her sleeve causing the young Kaiba to fall.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"What was that?" Mindy asked as the group heard a thud. A few seconds later there was another loud thud, closely followed by another.

"That was odd." Chazz commented. Bastion nodded. Then Zane turned a corner so he was now seen by the others.

"Hey bro, what happened?" Syrus asked. Zane scratched the back of his head.

"Um, Kuronu ...fainted." He answered.

"Again?" Seto asked.

"Is she still sick?" Jasmine asked. Zane shrugged.

"I had found her, and went to get her, so we could end this stupid game, but I tripped on the carpet and grabbed her sleeve, but then she fell and because she was so close in front of me I fell on top of her…and she was unconscious." He explained.

Everyone stared at him, and then began to snicker, well, except Kaiba, who only glared at him, thinking _damn you Truesdale._

Everyone quickly went over to where the girl lay. Her face was bright red. "Must've hit her head really hard on the floor or something." Zane said as he knelt down next to her.

"Or something," Alexis muttered. Kaiba gritted his teeth. He and everyone who knew about Kuronu's crush on Zane figured that she had fainted cause Zane fell on her, and her being her and her liking him(Zane) was embarrassed or something, thus, fainted.

_Damn you Truesdale._ Kaiba thought to himself again. Kuronu's eyes then fluttered open. Zane had his hand behind her head and was looking down at her.

"Hey Kuronu," Jaden said as he leaned over her. "You ok?" Her face began to change back to it's normal color, then noticed how close Zane's face was to hers, and, as you can probably guess, fainted…again.

"She faints a lot, doesn't she?" Kianna asked as she approached them. She had a soda can with a straw in it. "So like, where am I sleeping? Cause like, I have to go to where I'm having my concert tomorrow, so I like, need sleep." She told them.

"How many times can you say 'like' in one sentence?" Chazz whispered to Jaden, who shrugged.

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Bwahahahaha, it's done! Ok, that was a really annoying chapter to write. It's one of those things where you see it clearly in your head, but then when you go to write it, you have no idea how. Yah, I dunno if that happens to anyone else, but it happens to me a lot. Ok, really trying to finish this up. I have WAAAAAAAAAY to many filler chapters; really need to get to the point soon. Ok, I'll try to update as soon as possible, if I write short chapters (which is hard for me) then I MIGHT be able to update every Tuesday. But that's if they're short. Cuz the longer they are, the longer it takes for me to update cuz if they're long then I have to write more…ok, done babbling. Please review, no harsh flames, forgive spelling and grammar, I know it sucks…well, mostly grammar. Yah, another reason it takes so long for me to update is cuz I write my stories on my computer setting, but it's like, I have to log off of my dad's, go to mine, which takes FOREVER to load, and now there's this problem with the task bar…it wont come up for some reason…ok, random little fact.


	27. The concert

Authoresses note: Yay, new chapter! Ok, thanks sooooooo much for all you awesome guys who reviewed. Cookies for everyone! And for everyone who didn't review but still read the chapter, cookies for everyone! You can choose which type you want. Oh my gosh, only (counts on fingers) including this chapter, only 3 more chapters till the 30th! I'm so excited.

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Chapter 27: the concert

Kuronu groaned as she sat up. She was on her bed. "What happened?" She asked.

"You fainted." Alexis told her. Kuronu looked around the room. Alexis and Jasmine were sitting on either side of her. Kianna was examining things and Mindy was standing behind her, agreeing with every single thing the pop star said. Kianna picked up a CD.

"I've heard of her, not to bad, though not as good as me. But that's not her fault, for no one can be as good as I." The pop star did the hair flip thing.

"You are absolutely right." Mindy agreed.

"Of course I am."

Kuronu blinked. "We've discovered something about Mindy's idol." Jasmine said.

"She has an ego almost as big as Chazz's." Alexis explained. Kuronu cringed.

"Eeeeeeeeeeew." Kianna then looked over at the girl.

"Hey, you're awake." She said. "You really like that Zane guy, don't you?"

Kuronu blushed. "Um, well, I- I guess…"

"Yah, he's pretty cute. Does he have a girl friend?"

"No." Alexis told her."

"Awesome. Maybe he'll go out with me, I mean, why wouldn't he want too?" The pop star giggled.

"Maybe because you're a prep." Kuronu muttered. "And some how I get the feeling he doesn't like preps."

"Agreed." Alexis muttered.

Everyone went to bed fairly early (eleven PM) due to the fact that they were all going to Tokyo tomorrow because Kianna had a concert, so they all had tickets. They only people were staying home were Kuronu's parents, and most likely Mallory, though Kuronu had heard her brothers mutter something about dragging her with them.

The next day everyone got up and got dressed and headed down for breakfast at about nine o'clock am. "This is so exciting!" Mindy exclaimed. "I'm going to get to see Kianna sing in a live concert!" She skipped over to her chair.

"Let's just hope that she's as good as she constantly brags about." Chazz muttered.

"I think the most exciting part is that we get to explore Tokyo for the whole day." Alexis said.

"I know. I wonder if there are any good places to buy duel monsters." Jaden wondered.

"Most likely." Bastion told him.

"So, when are we leaving?" Syrus asked.

"About an hour." Kianna told him.

About an hour later, everyone was gathered in the front hall. They all had coats, and gloves, and scarves, and hats on. "Now, when you're out side, keep your gloves on at all times." Meisha told Kuronu.

"I know, mom."

"And your hat and scarf."

"Fine, fine." Kuronu pulled at her dark blue scarf. _I hate scarves, they're so annoying._

"Glad my mom's not here." Syrus whispered to Jaden, who laughed. Kuronu glared at him.

"Where's Haru and Hiro?" Jasmine asked.

"I saw them go upstairs with a rope." Marik said. He looked at Kaiba, who shrugged.

"Let me go!" They heard Mallory holler from upstairs.

"Dear beloved sister, we're only doing what we think is best for you." Hiro told her.

"And we think you need to get out more." Haru agreed.

"What I NEED is to rip you guys apart, then hang your ripped up bodies from a rope and use them as targets!" Everyone flinched.

"Isn't she graphic?" Karma muttered. Seto whacked his forehead. The two twins began to descend the staircase, dragging Mallory, who was tied up with the rope, behind them.

"What are you guys doing?" Meisha asked.

"We're taking Mallory with us." Hiro replied.

"She needs more fresh air."

"What I need-"

"We know what you need." Hiro told her. Their older sibling glared at them.

"Just wait till I get my gun." She muttered.

"But then you'll be in jail." Haru told her.

"And we'll probably never see you again." Hiro said, tears welling up in their eyes as they looked at their sister.

"If only I were that fortunate."

"She's…" Karma began.

"Interesting." Marik finished.

"You have no idea." Seto groaned.

"You guys have a nice trip." Meisha said as she waved goodbye.

"I hate everyone." Mallory grumbled.

They road in a limo to the train station, then boarded the train that was set for Tokyo. Kuronu, Jaden, Alexis, Zane, Syrus, and Chazz sat in a compartment, while Kianna, Mindy, Jasmine, Chumley, Bastion, and Karma, sat in another, with Haru, Hiro, Marik, Mokuba, and a very, very, VERY reluctant Mallory in the third.

"So what're we gonna do first?" Jaden asked. Alexis pulled out a pamphlet.

"There are a lot of neat places," She said as she looked through. Kuronu looked leaned over at examined the page she was looking at.

"I vote for going to the Tokyo Tower first." She said excitedly.

"Oh, where's that?" Jaden asked. He leaned over Kuronu, who was sitting next to Alexis.

"Jaden," Kuronu muttered. "You're elbow is embedded in my thigh." She groaned. Syrus and Chazz chuckled.

"That looks awesome, let's go there first." Jaden agreed." Kuronu shoved Jaden back in his own seat. "Sorry," He said, rubbing the back of his head. Kuronu couldn't help but smile.

"Whatever,"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So then I'm like, 'I'd be happy to sign your car.'" Kianna said. She was telling everyone about her last concert.

"That is so awesome." Mindy said.

"I know."

"How riveting," Bastion said sarcastically as he leaned against the window. Karma had forced herself to smile. She had heard each story a million times.

"How about we talk about something else." She said.

"Good." Bastion, Mindy, and Chumley all said.

"Oh, how about your newest CD!" Mindy said.

"Sure." Kianna agreed. Everyone else groaned.

XXXXXXXXXX

"And then the oven exploded!" Haru said enthusiastically.

"Sweet," Marik said.

"Totally." Mokuba and Hiro said together.

"Yah, mom and dad were really mad at us, but at least we got to see dad's head blow up, so that was pretty fun." Haru said.

"I hate everyone and everything." Mallory muttered, glaring at her brothers, uncle, and…whatever the heck Marik was to her.

XXXXXXXXXX

The train screeched as it stopped. Some one spoke on the loud speakers, telling everyone that they could now exit the train.

"We're here!" Jaden and Syrus said excitedly.

"Ok," Marik said once everyone was off the train. "We need to go to the concert hall, you can all go off and do your own thing, but make sure that you're at that clock," He pointed to a clock. "By four o'clock."

"If you don't have money," Mokuba said. "Borrow some from Haru, Hiro, Kuronu, or Myself, just don't talk to Mallory and maybe you'll make it home with no broken bones." Everyone looked at Mallory, who was still tied up by her brothers. She glared at everyone.

"I hate the world." She muttered.

"Can I go with you guys?" Mindy asked Kianna.

"Sure, why not." She answered. Mindy screamed her fan girl scream.

"Ok, then you're going to miss out on the Tokyo tower." Alexis said.

"You know what we should do." Mokuba said. "We should wait till it gets dark, and then go when it's all lit up." He suggested.

"That would be so awesome." Kuronu said.

"Cool, we'll go after dinner." Marik said. So the four took off for the concert hall.

"I have to get some things. If you guys have any other Christmas presents to buy, buy them now." Mokuba said. "If you need anything, call me on my cell phone."

"Come on sis; let's go Christmas present shopping, because we know you didn't get anything for anyone." Haru said as he and his twin dragged their sister away, ignoring her pretests.

"They don't realize how weird it looks for them to be dragging around a tied up girl around Tokyo, do they?" Zane asked.

"Probably not." Kuronu said.

"Ok, this time, I am NOT going clothes shopping with girls!" Chazz shouted. Several by passers looked at him oddly.

"Agreed," Bastion and Chumley said.

_Awesome, now I can get Zane's present._ Kuronu thought to herself.

"So now what?" Alexis asked.

"Present shopping?" Bastion offered.

"Good plan." Kuronu agreed. As they walked down the busy streets, Kuronu pulled Syrus aside. "What does Zane like?" She asked. Syrus pondered the question for a moment.

"Duel monsters." He said.

"Yah, but everyone who likes duel monsters gives their friends cards for Christmas, it's so cliché." She explained.

"Good point."

"Does he like cars?" She inquired.

"I guess."

"Does he have one?"

"Yah, he got it for his birthday last year, and boy is it one sweet heck of a ride."

"Really?"

"Yah. It's a light blue convertible, with black leather seats."

"Sweet."

"I know."

"He must look so hot in it."

Syrus blinked. "Sorry, I wouldn't know. I don't look at my brother the way you do." Kuronu blushed.

"Right sorry." She looked over to make sure Zane wasn't in ear shot. "Maybe I could get him fuzzy dice." Syrus looked at her blankly. "Or not." She added quickly.

"Maybe," Syrus began, and then shook his head.

"Maybe what?" Kuronu asked quickly.

"Well, I was thinking a watch…"

"A watch?"

"Yah, it's a bad idea."

Kuronu thought about this. "It's not necessarily a bad idea. If I can't find anything else, I'll get him that. Like, a really expensive cool one."

"He'd probably like anything you got him…except fuzzy dice." Kuronu laughed.

"Oh, book store!" Alexis shouted out. She ran over to it and peered through the glass windows.

"Does he like manga?" Kuronu whispered to Syrus.

"I don't know. He doesn't read much." Syrus replied.

"Wow, you really don't know much about him, do you?" Syrus shrugged.

"Aw, it's closed." Alexis said sadly.

"Oh well, never really liked books anyways." Jaden commented. Alexis rolled her eyes.

"Some people have no appreciation for quality literature." Bastion murmured.

As they continued to walk down the street, Jasmine noticed a jewelry store. "Oh, can we go in there?" he asked.

Chazz groaned. "Maybe we should split up. Guys in one group, girls in the other." Alexis, Kuronu, and Jasmine looked at each other.

"That's actually a pretty good idea." Alexis thought aloud. Jasmine and Kuronu nodded. "Ok then. We split up." The three girls went to the jewelry store, leaving the guys behind.

"Wanna go find an arcade?" Jaden asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The girls looked around. Necklaces and bracelets and watches and all sorts of shiny things glistened around them. Alexis examined a necklace. Kuronu headed over to the watches. That was the only thing she could think of for Zane. _It's practical, yet fancy, and above all, useful. _She looked at the different watches. _But maybe it's too fancy. They're all so shiny and expensive. Well, price isn't an issue, but what if he wants to wear something casual? I don't think any of these would go to well with his uniform. _

"Whatcha looking at?" Alexis asked as she came over.

"I was thinking about getting Zane a watch." Kuronu replied. "Think that's a good idea?" she asked.

"I guess, but does he even like watches?"

"That's the thing. Neither Syrus nor I have any idea what he likes. I mean, does he like music, does he like to read? What does he like to do in his spare time?"

"Just ask your brothers." Jasmine suggested. Kuronu whacked her forehead.

"Duh. If I were as smart as my father wished, I would've thought of that last time." Kuronu pulled out her cell phone and dialed in Hiro's number.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"How about this?" Haru asked, holding up a pink silk shirt in front of his sister, it looked at it with great hatred.

"It's repulsive." She said. "Now untie me before I get myself out, and then I'll hurt you even more then I would if you'd untie me." See threatened, but the twins were unfazed. They were used to these kinds of threats.

"Now, now, you'll never get a date wearing that." Hiro said. She was wearing black leather pants, a black sleeveless leather shirt, and a long black trench coat with black boots. "You need to wear something more…feminine."

"If you say that word one more time, I will murder you in the most painful of ways when I get out of this rope prison."

"What, feminine?" Mallory lunged at the two. They screamed and dodged. The gothic girl pushed her self up with her feat and continued to lunge at them, yelling out curses, which scared away everyone around.

As Hiro ran around, his phone rang. "H- hello?" He said.

"Hey Hiro," He heard his younger sister say. Mallory tried banged into a clothes rack, knocking it over. "Um, what's that noise?" She asked.

"N-nothing." Hiro lied, dodging his sisters, who now had a hanger in her mouth, a bent metal hanger to be exact, which looked rather sharp. She tossed the hanger at him, which barely missed his head. It stuck into the wall. Hiro screamed as he and his brother ran away.

"Hiro, what are you doing?" Kuronu asked. As the two boys turned around, Mallory had cut the ropes by rubbing them against a clothes rack. She tore the ropes off of her, dropping them on the floor. She gave her brothers a murderous glare.

"Um, I'll have to call you back!" Hiro said quickly.

"But-"

"Bye!" Kuronu looked at her phone as she heard crashes and cursing and screaming, then a click.

"What was that about?" Jasmine asked.

"Who knows?" Kuronu said as she sighed. "Now what?" she asked.

"Go to the mall?" Jasmine asked. "Chances are you'll find something there."

"Good point."

XXXXXXXXXX

The six boys entered the arcade. The lights were all red and yellow and blue. People all around were playing games as loud music played from the speakers.

"This place is kinda creepy." Syrus said as guy that dresses like Mallory passed by. He had a Mohawk with hot pink highlights, well, it looked pink. No one could tell due to the lighting.

"Come on, I think I see duel arena over there." Jaden said as he pushed his way through the crowd. Syrus and Chumley reluctantly ran after him. Bastion raised an eyebrow.

"I never knew that arcades could be this…" A bunch of girls in shorts and tank tops walked by. "Strange." He finished. "It's the middle of December for Pete's sake."

"Might as well go do something." Zane said as he walked towards the duel arena. Chazz and Bastion shrugged as they followed.

A teenage boy about sixteen or seventeen punched the air with his fist. "I'm undefeatable!" She shouted. The group around the platform cheered. His opponent slumped off of the platform. "Anyone else wanna get thrashed by me?"

"I will." Jaden said as he climbed up.

"Jaden, don't." Syrus protested, but his friend had already pulled out his deck and placed it in the slot of the duel disk that he had been given.

"Well, well, well, another looser looking to get beaten to a pulp."

"Sorry dude, but I'm planning on winning this." Jaden said. "Now lets through down!" He did his signature pose.

"Whatever."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Mindy gasped as she walked into the large room. There were rows and rows of seats on the ground floor and above her. "This is so amazing." She said, hearing her echo.

"Yep." Kianna said.

"You play in places like these all the time?"

"Pretty much."

"Lucky."

The teenage pop star jumped onto the stage and walked over to an electric guitar. It was blue and purple with silver flames going across it. She held it out as Mindy climbed onto the stage. "This is my baby." She said. Mindy looked at it with awe. "I've had it ever since I was ten."

"It's so shiny." Kianna laughed. She set the guitar back on it stand and looked around. A set of drums were on a small platform behind her. A second guitar and bass were on the other side of the stage with microphones in front of them.

Security guards walked around, setting up medal fence type things by the sides of the stairs that led up to the stage. When the concert started they'd be placed in front of them so people couldn't get up.

"My band should be here pretty soon." Kianna said as she and Mindy sat down on the stage.

"Who's in your band?" Mindy asked.

"The second guitarist is an old friend of mine, Drake. The drummer my manager gave us when we started the band, and we held auditions for the bass player." Kianna replied.

"Yet you're the only singer, why is that?"

"Because I'm the only who can sing." Kianna replied. "No seriously, I am, those guys can't sing a song in tune to save their lives." Mindy giggled. "Drake's the one who convinced me to pursue this career." Kianna began. "I finally gave in, but only if he was one of the guitarists."

"So, is he like, your boy friend or something?" Mindy asked excitedly.

"Ew, no way. We tried going out on a date once but, there just weren't any sparks, so we stuck to just being friends."

"Oh…that's cool." Kianna then stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"I need to go find my manager and talk to him about some stuff. You wanna come with?" Kianna asked.

"Yah, totally!" Mindy replied, jumping up and sprinting over to the pop star.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu sighed as she, Jasmine, and Alexis sat at a table in a small diner. At least twenty shopping bags sat around them. "I can't believe Haru and Hiro STILL won't answer their cell phones."

"I hope they're ok." Jasmine said. Kuronu nodded.

"But I still have no idea what to get Zane."

"I'm sure he'll like whatever you get him." Alexis reassured her.

"Yah, but still, I want to get him something…special."

"Oh, you know what would be awesome?" Jasmine said excitedly. "If you told him that you liked him." Kuronu paled.

"Lets not and say I did."

"I think it's a good idea." Alexis said. Kuronu sighed. Her face began to turn red.

"That COULD be a good present…unless he doesn't like me at all and then I'm miserable for the rest of my life." Kuronu explained.

"Yah, good point." Jasmine said. The three girls sighed. Kuronu's cell phone suddenly rang. She grabbed it out of her pocket.

"Hello?" She asked excitedly.

"Hey sis, you uh, needed something?" Haru asked her. Kuronu punched the air.

"Yah, see, I'm trying to figure out what to get Zane for Christmas-"

"Say no more," Hiro said, she was guessing they had the phone on speaker.

"We know exactly what he likes."

Kuronu listened intently as they told her. "Are you sure?" She asked suspiciously. Jasmine and Alexis were now trying to hear what they were saying. "This isn't some kind of joke?" She was now glaring at the phone. "You're positive?"

"Absotivly," Haru began.

"Posolutly." Hiro finished. Kuronu sighed.

"If you're sure."

"We're sure." They said in unison.

"Ok, I'll see you guys later then."

"Byes." Kuronu hung up the phone.

"What'd they say?" Jasmine asked.

"Well, let's go get that present." Kuronu picked up her bags, left a fifty dollar bill on the table as a tip and walked out side.

XXXXXXXX

"Go, Flame wingman, attack him directly!" The monster flew up in the air, and then swooped down, striking the boy. As he fell, his life points dropped to zero. "That's game!" Jaden said as he did he signature pose. The crowd cheered.

"Wow, that's the fifth person Jaden's beat." Syrus said, completely in awe if his best friend.

"Yes, and he beat all of them in ten minuets." Bastion commented. The boy slowly jumped off the stage and sulked away.

'Ok, who's next?"

"Jaden, we should really get going." Syrus told him. "We still have some shopping to do." Jaden sighed.

"Ok," He began to climb off the stage.

"Hey!" Some one from the crowd shouted. "Where do you think your going?"

"Um, to a store. I still have some things to get."

"Not until you duel me." He said.

"I wanna duel him too!" Some one else shouted.

"I want a rematch!" Soon it seemed like every person in the arcade wanted to duel him.

"Um, I'll catch up with you guys later," Jaden said. "Cause I don't think I'm getting out of here any time soon." Syrus sighed.

"Ok, we'll be back in a little bit then." Syrus pushed his way back through the crowd and too the others. "Come on, we'll meet up with him later." He told.

"About time." Chazz muttered.

XXXXXXXXX

Haru and Hiro looked nervously over at their older sister. They were sitting at a table in an outside dinner. She was sitting sideways on the chair, glaring at the cars that passed by, and occasionally at them. Haru and Hiro had several bruises and bumps all over their faces.

"So what do you want to do now?" They asked. Mallory just rolled her eyes.

"Why am I still hanging out with you losers?" She muttered.

"Because you love us?" They asked, going over and putting their arms around her.

"No." She said. "Now get your disgusting arms off of me." They quickly moved away.

"Well then," Hiro said. "I think today was pretty successful."

"I agree, except for the part where Mallory trashed most of the store and everything in it and we had to pay a HUGE fine, it was all good." Haru agreed. Mallory bit her lip.

"You guys knew about Alexis being Atticus's little sister, didn't you?" She asked. The twins were startled by this question.

"Uh…um, well, see,"

"Just answer the question."

"…Yah," Hiro said quietly. The three siblings sat in silence for a while.

"Have they heard anything about Atticus?" Mallory finally asked.

"Well, yah, see, they found him." Haru told her. "But he's been unconscious sense then." Mallory's eyes narrowed.

"But I'm sure he'll be ok." Hiro said quickly, trying to cheer her up, which everyone who has tried to do that has failed miserably, and Hiro was no exception.

"That's a long time to be unconscious." She said as she stood up and began to walk away.

"Ah, sis, wait up!" Hiro said as he and his brother began to chase after her.

XXXXXXXXX

"That was unexpected." Alexis said as the three girls walked out of the music store. Jasmine and Kuronu nodded.

"I can't believe they sell American CDs here though." Kuronu said as she looked at the case.

"Who would've thought that Zane liked 'Linkin Park'?" Jasmine thought aloud, also looking at the CD case. The three girls stared at the case for a while, then all shrugged.

"Oh well. C'mon, it's almost four o'clock." So the three set off.

XXXXXXXXX

Mindy began to drool as she stared at the teen standing next to Kianna. He had jet black spiky hair and bright green eyes. "How can she not want to date this guy?" She muttered. Kianna turned around and walked over to her.

"We should go meet everyone for dinner." She told her. She then turned to her friend. "Wanna come Drake?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Nah, I'll stay her." Kianna shrugged.

"Suite yourself, you may never get another chance in your life to see the Tokyo tower." Kianna and Mindy jumped off the stage and joined up with Marik and Karma.

XXXXXXXX

Mokuba tapped his foot as he looked as his watch. Kuronu, Mindy, Jasmine, Kianna, and Mindy were sitting around him; Marik and Karma were standing next to him on either side. Just as they were all getting really inpatient, all the guys ran over.

"Sorry we're late," Jaden said as he put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"We went to that arcade a few blocks away," Syrus began to explain.

"And we got a little held up." Chazz finished.

"You guys went to the Down town Tokyo arcade!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"Um…I guess." Jaden said. "If that's what it's called. Kuronu whacked her forehead.

"That's like, one of the worst places to go! Especially for duelists! If you lose, you have to pay a fine for 'wasting other people's time' if you win, you never get out of there because everyone else wants to duel you! And, there are REALLY weird people there." She finished.

"We kinda noticed all that stuff." Jaden said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Seriously," Syrus began. "Like, three goth chicks were totally hitting on Zane." Zane placed his hand over his eyes. He had told Syrus not to mention it, but does he ever listen to him? No.

"Anyways," Mokuba said, looking at each of the guys weirdly. Why they would go to a place like that, he didn't know. He thought that Bastion and Zane would be smart enough not to go to weird looking places. "We just have to wait for Mallory and the twins, and then we need to get dinner."

"Speak if the devil, here they are now." Zane announced. Mallory trudged over to them, glaring at them all. Haru and Hiro soon after ran across the street to them.

"Wow, you're still with them." Kuronu observed. "I was sure that you would've beaten 'em up and went home."

"I don't know why I didn't." Mallory mumbled.

"What happened to the ropes?" Mokuba asked.

"Well, she kinda got free," Hiro said, rubbing a giant bump on the back of his head.

"And then we tried to tie her up again, but a police officer threatened to arrest us, he thought we were trying to kidnap her or something." Haru explained.

"So we got beat up some more by our ever so loving sister, and then she realized her love for us and said she'd never let us out of her sights." Hiro said. Everyone stared at them.

"I believe the first part," Zane said, "But the last part, how she 'realized her love for you and said she'd never let you out of her sights' that is just completely implausible."

Mallory whacked them both over the head. "Ok, so we stretched the truth a little," Hiro admitted, only to get whacked by their elder sister.

"Ok, a lot." Haru said quickly. "We actually have no idea why she's still here."

"Ok, moving on." Marik said before the conversation progressed. "We need to get dinner." Mokuba led the way to a very fancy restaurant, which probably cost about $10,000 total, but this wasn't a big deal because Kaiba's can afford that kind of thing. After wards they went to the Tokyo tower. It was a large tower, now glowing with orange and white lights. They sky was now darkening, so they hurried up. On the first floor was an aquarium, and, according to a pamphlet that Alexis had gotten, had over 50,000 fish.

The third floor was a wax museum and an attraction called the Mysterious Walking Zone, and the fourth floor a Trick Art Gallery. There were also two observatory floors, giving them a beautiful view of Tokyo, which was now glistening with lights.

"It's beautiful," Kuronu murmured as she looked out.

"Yah," Kuronu quickly looked over, she hadn't noticed Zane standing next to her. Her face turned red.

_Ok Kuronu, don't freak out. You are standing next to Zane…in the Tokyo tower…what could be more romantic! _"So, have you ever been here?" She asked.

"Yah, we came here about twelve years ago." He replied.

"Wow. I came here once, though I don't remember because I was just a baby, but I've seen lots of pictures. My mom and dad used to come here a lot when they were dating and before they had kids. My mom of course used up like, two whole rolls of film each time she came here." Zane chuckled.

Kianna walked over and leaned her back against the railing. "So, whatcha guys doing?" She asked.

"Nothing," Kuronu replied. _Darn it Kianna, of all the times you had to come over, you just HAD to choose now, didn't you! _"Are you enjoying Tokyo?"

"Yah, it's pretty awesome, though really busy." Jaden and Syrus ran over, each of them carrying a soda can and a bag of chips.

"Check out this view, Sy! Man, this is sweet." Jaden exclaimed.

"Yah, it's really awesome." Syrus agreed.

_Why does everyone feel need to come over right when I'm alone with Zane in the most romantic I'll ever get to be with him! _Kuronu thought to herself. She banged her fists on the railing.

"You ok Kuronu?" Jaden asked, looking over. Her eyes were shut tight and she was mumbling stuff. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Oh, yah, I'm fine." She blushed. Zane and Kianna were also looking at her weirdly. _Yep, I'm great, never been better, NOT! _

Alexis sighed as she stared out the large glass windows. Jasmine and Mindy had gone off to get some snacks. As she turned to look somewhere else, Mallory stepped in front of her. The eldest Kaiba stared down at her, a strange look on her face.

"Hi," Alexis said awkwardly. Mallory leaned against the railing and looked out without replying. Alexis figured that she had just wanted her to move, so she took the opritunity to leave.

Mallory bit her lip. "Oy, Rhodes," She finally said. Alexis stopped and looked back at her, rather surprised. The blonde waited for her to say something else, but she didn't. Was Mallory expecting her to say something, or was she just not sure what else to say, but her thought were interrupted when she did speak.

"You look a lot like your brother." She said softly. Alexis slightly smiled. "But you're nothing alike. Your all perfect little Miss goody- goody, he's… different." Alexis tried not to laugh. Mallory had just insulted her pretty much, but she found it funny how she described Atticus.

"You knew my brother pretty well, didn't you?" Alexis asked, slowly walking over. Maybe she had just misunderstood Mallory. Maybe she wasn't that bad, perhaps just sad and lonely, like Jasmine had said. She then remembered the gun, and then thought about it more. _It probably wasn't even loaded._ She thought to herself.

"I guess," Mallory replied. She was about to say more, but was interrupted by her uncle.

"We should probably get going." He announced.

"Oh yah!" Mindy cheered. "It's concert time!"

Mallory straightened up. As she walked past Alexis she stopped. "Don't get your hopes up to high about him. He's been unconscious for a long time." She then continued walking. Alexis stood there, shocked. Did she think that Atticus would never wake up? That she'd never be able to talk with her brother again?

"Hey Alexis," Jaden said as he approached her. "You ok?" He asked.

"Ah, yah, I'm fine. C'mon, let's go." She grabbed his hand and joined the rest of the group.

XXXXXXXX

The large black limo pulled up in front of a large dome. There were a few people lined up to get tickets, but not many.

"Where is everyone?" Mindy asked.

"The concert doesn't start for another hour." Kianna explained.

"Then why are we here?" Chazz asked skeptically.

"Because," Kianna began. "I need to get ready." She said in a matter of fact tone. Chazz glared at her as she climbed out of the limo. They went through a back door that led directly back stage. Lots of people were milling around. A tall man with slicked back black hair came over.

"There you are, come on, come on, need to get ready." He had some sort of British accent. He grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"Who was that guy?" Syrus asked.

"Her manager." Marik and Karma said at the same time. "We really need to fire him and find her a new manager." Marik suggested.

"What wrong with him?" Mokuba asked.

"He's so…pushy." Karma explained. Mindy gasped.

"There's Drake!" She said excitedly.

"Who?" Jasmine asked.

"He's in the band, and he is so hot." Jasmine and Alexis looked at him.

"Oooh, he is." Jasmine agreed.

"Come on, I'll introduce you." Mindy pulled her two best friends away.

"Why aren't you all over him?" Haru asked her.

"Because I have some one better looking to gawk over." She explained, glancing over at Zane. Her brothers tried to follow her gaze, but were unsuccessful.

"Is it someone in your little group of people?" Hiro asked.

"Maybe,"

"That's a yes!" Haru exclaimed.

"That's defiantly a yes." Hiro agreed.

"Now what are you dweebs doing?" Mallory asked, as she walked over, arms crossed like always.

"Kuronu has a crush on some guy in her small group of people." Haru said excitedly. Mallory looked at the two of them as they examined each of the guys.

"Excuse me while I go barf." She said, in her same monotone voice.

"You're excused." The twins said in perfect unison.

About forty- five minuets later, Kianna returned from her dressing room. She had light navy pants on with a slate shirt that was long. A silver belt lay across her hips. Mindy ran over. "Wow, you look so amazing!" She exclaimed.

"I know I do." Kianna said as she did the hair flip thing. The other guys in the band all wore black and white. Drakes black hair was slightly spiked, black eye liner lined his eyes. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and black pants. He held a black guitar with red flames on it.

"She's right, you do look amazing." He said as he walked over.

"And you look creepy." Syrus muttered, though he had a feeling the guitarist heard him.

"Yah kinda reminds me of Mallory." Haru said aloud.

"Where is Mal?" Mokuba asked. They all looked over and saw her talking with drummer and the bass player, who also resembled her 'type'. Yes, all the band players looked very cool and dark with their spiked hair and black clothing, except Kianna who looked…not preppy, but not as cool as them, though still cool.

"Why am I not surprised?" Kuronu muttered.

"Ok, people, ten minuets, we have ten minuets till the show starts!" The manager exclaimed. Kianna rolled her eyes. They could now hear lots of people cheering and talking. Jaden peeked out of the curtain and gasped. The large dome with filled with hundreds of people.

"Come on, we need to go find our seats." Mokuba told them.

"We're not staying back here?" Chumley asked, looking sadly over at the large food table.

"Well, we can't see the show very well from back here, now can we?" Karma decided to stay back stage. Marik, who never seen the concerts from the audience decided to go with everyone else. Mallory also wished to stay, but Haru and Hiro dragged her along with them.

The walked up a flight of stairs to the upper level. As the approached their seats, the lights went off, then blue, red, and yellow lights came on. The crowd began to cheer. Mindy ran up to the bar, she had a clear view of the stage. Lots of people were crowded around it, jumping up and down and cheering. There was then a loud bang as smoke filled the air around the stage. Kianna walked through it. She raised her right hand in the air.

"Good evening!" She shouted through her microphone. The crowd cheered even louder. "Let's rock this place!" As the smoke cleared, the rest of the band became visible as they began to play. The bass was so loud that the building seemed to be shaking. Mindy screamed. She grabbed Alexis and Jasmine and ran down the steps to the group of people crowded around the stage. Kianna began to sing, her voice rang through out the dome.

"She's pretty good." Kuronu said to Jaden. He looked at her.

"What?" He shouted.

"I said she's pretty good." Kuronu repeated, louder this time.

"Speak up, I can't hear you!" Jaden shouted back.

"I SAID," Kuronu shouted even louder then before. "SHE'S PRETTY GOOD!" Jaden had to cover his ears. He nodded and gave her thumbs up, indicating that he had heard her that time.

"Ah- ha!" Haru said. "So it's Jaden you like?"

"WHAT!" Kuronu asked.

"I said," Haru repeated, slightly louder. "So it's Jaden you like?"

"Speak up!" she shouted.

"IS JADEN THE FRICKEN GUY YOU LIKE?" Haru shouted.

"NO!" Kuronu shouted back.

"IT'S NOT JADEN!" Haru shouted to Hiro.

"What!" Hiro asked.

Mallory whacked her forehead. "Why do concerts have to be so BEEP loud?" She asked. Mokuba looked at her. He saw her mouth moving, but heard absolutely nothing, but maybe that was a good thing.

"**Why not  
Take a crazy chance  
Why not  
Do a crazy dance  
If you lose a moment  
You might lose a lot  
So... why not  
Why not" **

Chazz yawned. "Is she only going to sing girly songs all night?" He asked Bastion, who shrugged.

"Do they have to keep the volume up so loud?"

Alexis and Jasmine returned. "Where's Mindy?" Kuronu asked. They pointed down to the crowd of people surrounding the stage.

"Somewhere down there." Alexis replied. "Where'd the guys go?" Kuronu blinked. She turned around, but they were no longer standing there.

"They were right there."

"I see them." Jasmine said, she pointed to some seats. The guys were sitting there, looking at their cards and discussing things that included duel monsters.

"Figures." The three girls said in unison.

Haru and Hiro walked over to them. "Are you the guy Kuronu likes?" Hiro asked Syrus. Syrus blinked.

"I don't know, am I?"

"I don't know, are you?"

"Kuronu liked Syrus?" Bastion asked, having heard the question.

"I don't know," Haru replied. "Does she?" Bastion shrugged. He leaned over to Jaden.

"I thought Kuronu liked Zane." He said.

"Yah, I guess, does she?"

"Her brothers said she likes Syrus."

"Who, she likes Syrus!"

"Who likes Syrus?" Chazz asked, leaning in closer.

"Kuronu." Jaden told him.

"No way, I thought she liked Zane."

"I thought she did too." Jaden commented, scratching his chin. "Are you sure that's what they said?" He asked Bastion.

"No, it's kind of hard to hear."

"Maybe we should just ask Kuronu." Chazz suggested.

"Good idea, Bastion, go ask Kuronu." Jaden told the Ra yellow.

"Syrus, go ask Kuronu." Bastion told Syrus.

"Ask Kuronu what?" Bastion rolled his eyes.

"If she likes you."

"She does!" He exclaimed.

"I don't know, does she?"

"Ask Kuronu if she likes me." Syrus said to Haru.

"Will do, oh younger brother of our beloved Zane." Haru replied. He walked over to his youngest sister. "Do you like Syrus?" He asked.

Kuronu smirked. "No, but your close." Her brothers pondered this.

"Who is close to Syrus?" Hiro asked. "She already said it wasn't Jaden."

"Chumley maybe?"

"Maybe." Kuronu grabbed them before they go ask Chumley.

"I do not like Chumley, try again." So her brother pondered more.

"I'm gonna find a soda machine." Mallory said as she stalked off.

"Ok," Mokuba said, even though he had no idea what she said. Mallory found the hall that led to where the soda machines were, but they were all diet.

"Well this is a drag." She muttered. "What's the point in having a diet soda machine at a concert hall?" She looked around. "And they don't even sell any beer. This place sucks."

XXXXXXX

Haru and Hiro sighed. "She doesn't like Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, or Chazz, who else is there?" Hiro shouted, though because of the loud music, only Haru heard him.

'There are Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine…but I don't think Kuronu's into other girls like 'that'"

"I should hope not." Hiro replied. "Hmmmmmmm," The both um… 'said' though it's not really speaking, but whatever.

"Whatcha guys doing?" Their uncle asked as he approached them.

"We're trying to figure out who Kuronu likes." They both replied.

"Oh, that's always fun."

"Yah, except we have no idea who it is. See, she said it was someone in her group of peoples," Hiro began to explain.

"But she said that it's not Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, or Chazz." Haru finished.

"So there's no one else."

Mokuba blinked. He looked over at Zane. He had heard Seto mumbling things about Zane, and now he knew why. He looked back at his nephews. _Are they really that stupid?_ He asked himself. "Ok, so it's not any of the people you said, but there's still one more guy."

"Really, who?" Hiro asked quickly.

"Are one of those cute girls really a guy in disguise?" Haru inquired. Mokuba slapped his forehead.

"Oh. My. Gosh." He muttered. "You guys need to take 'how to think 101'. He said as he walked away. "I wonder if they sell aspirin here, I have a headache."

Jaden leaned against the railing as the music stopped. The crowd cheered louder, if that was possible. The lights turned to a soft purple as Kianna set her guitar in a stand. The band began to play a slower song.

"**There you see her  
Sitting there across the way  
She don't got a lot to say  
But there's something about her"  
**

Jaden glanced over at the girls. They were talking about something rather funny apparently because Alexis laughed. Jaden blinked. _Wow, she has a pretty smile._

"**And you don't know why  
But you're dying to try  
You wanna kiss the girl"**

Jaden blinked as he suddenly realized he was staring at her. He shook his head. _Well, that was weird._

"**Yes, you want her  
Look at her, you know you do  
It's possible she wants you, too  
There is one way to ask her  
It don't take a word  
Not a single word  
Go on and kiss the girl"**

Purple, pink, and blue lights flashed on.**  
**  
"**Sha-la-la-la-la-la  
My, oh, my  
Look at the boy too shy  
He ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Sha-la-la-la-la-la  
Ain't that sad  
Ain't it shame, too bad  
You gonna miss the girl"**

Alexis smiled and danced as the lights flashed different colors. Syrus looked at Jaden; his mouth was hanging wide open. "Uh, Jaden," He whispered as he poked his friend's arm.

"Aww!" He screamed. Several people looked at him weirdly, including Alexis. He crouched down and covered his ears. "Don't listen to the song Sy, it does strange things to you." Syrus blinked.

"I've noticed." Chazz leaned on the railing over them and sighed.

"Lexi has brown eyes." He said. **  
**  
**"Now's your moment  
Floating in a blue lagoon  
Boy, you better do it soon  
No time will be better  
She don't say a word  
And she won't say a word  
Until you kiss the girl" **

Don't you love this song?" Chazz asked. Jaden shook his head.

"No." He stood up and ran out into the hall to the bathroom. Once there, he leaned against the wall and sighed. Syrus ran in soon after.

"Hey Jay, you ok?" He asked worriedly.

Jaden put his hand on his chest. "I think so." He said.

"What happened?" Syrus asked.

"I don't know. I just got this really weird feeling in my stomach, and my heart began to race."

"When did you first feel it?"

"Well, that weird, icky song began to play, and I just sort of glanced over and I saw Alexis-"

"Say no more," Syrus said an evil smirk upon his face. "I know what you were feeling." He said.

"You do?" The light green haired boy nodded.

XXXXXXXX

"Where'd Jaden and Syrus go?" Kuronu asked.

"I don't know," Chazz replied. "Jaden just got up and ran out, followed by Syrus." Kuronu blinked. "I don't know what that guy's problem is."

"Maybe he got sick." Jasmine suggested.

"Maybe, he did eat a lot." Alexis agreed.

**  
"You've got to kiss the girl  
Why don't you kiss the girl  
You gotta kiss the girl  
Go on and kiss the girl" **

The crowd cheered as Kianna punched the air with her fist. Kuronu smiled as she saw Jaden and Syrus approach them. "Jaden, you feeling ok?" She asked when he was in ear shot. He nodded.

"He's better then ok." Syrus said cheerfully. "In fact, he's in-" Jaden quickly covered his mouth.

"I'm in the mood for some soda." He said. Kuronu raised an eyebrow. "Any soda machines around?"

"No," Mallory said as she passed by. "This place sucks."

"Ooooooooooook," Kuronu mumbled. "I'm not even going to ask.

The concert seemed to go on forever, though it was rather enjoyable, except for the fact that there was only diet soda.

"Unfortunately, all things must come to an end." Kianna suddenly said as the song ended.

"Noooooooooooooooooooo!" Mindy cried. "It can't be over, it just can't!"

"Actually, it can." Jasmine told her.

"Yah, besides, she's living in the same house as us for several more days." Alexis said.

"Oh yah."

Kianna picked up her guitar; she hadn't used it for a while.

"**Any moment, everything can change,  
Feel the wind on your shoulder,  
For a minute, all the world can wait,  
Let go of your yesterday. **

Can you hear it calling?  
Can you feel it in your soul?  
Can you trust this longing?  
And take control,

Fly  
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away  
You can shine,  
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,  
And start to try, cause it's your time,  
Time to fly.

All your worries, leave them somewhere else,  
Find a dream you can follow,  
Reach for something, when there's nothing left,  
And the world's feeling hollow.

Can you hear it calling?  
Can you feel it in your soul?  
Can you trust this longing?  
And take control,

Fly  
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away  
You can shine,  
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,  
And start to try, cause it's your time,  
Time to fly.

And when you're down and feel alone,  
Just want to run away,  
Trust yourself and don't give up,  
You know you better than anyone else,

Any moment, everything can change,  
Feel the wind on your shoulder,  
For a minute, all the world can wait,  
Let go of yesterday,

Fly  
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away  
You can shine,  
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,  
And start to try,  
Fly  
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,  
And start to try, cause it's your time,  
Time to fly.

In a moment, everything can change."

The crowd cheered. Kianna punched the air with her fist. "Goodnight Tokyo!"

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BWAHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S DONE! Ok, sorry. Wow, this is the longest thing I've ever written in my entire life. Yah, so congrats, you just sat here for who knows who long, reading 28 pages of…who knows what. No seriously, I can't even remember half the stuff that happened in the chapter. Well, I now know that it is completely IMPOSSIBLE for me to write short chapters, but if I do, it'll be really short because this is what happens when I don't make it really short, it's really, REALLY long. Anyways, this should keep you occupied for a while. Ok, please review, no harsh flames, in fact, no flames at all. Oh yes, the songs that Kianna sang. I'll go in order from the first to the last.

Even though it was just the chorus, "Why Not" by Hilary Duff.

"Kiss the girl" Um, not sure who wrote it, but I have the Ashley Tisdale version, so yah…

"Fly" by Hilary Duff.

…Ew, way to much Hilary Duff, no offense to Hilary fans. Ok, cya later.


	28. wherein kuronu tries to bake a cake

Yay, new chapter! Ok, this one is NOT going to be as long. I'll try to keep it under 15 pages…I hope. Cuz I wanna have them leave in the 31 chapter. So yah, might seem a bit rushed but… I just wanna get this done. Cuz this has been going on for what, 11 chapters now? Oh wow… my eyes hurt, well not as much now. I had an eye doctor appointment and he broke my eyes. Like, he dropped this yellow liquid in them, and when I looked in a mirror(trying to figure out which glasses to get) I noticed that my whole eye was black with a brown ring around it, where normally your eyes are whatever color they are and a black dot in the middle. Yah, and then when I went outside, I felt like my eyes were going to burned out of my skull. Any who, random little thing that happened to me today.

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Chapter 28: Wherein Kuronu tries to bake a cake

Kuronu yawned. She sat up in her bed and looked around. They had gotten home at like, twelve o'clock a.m. She yawned again. It was hard to keep her eyes open. She was exhausted, but her back wouldn't allow her to sleep anymore. See, when she slept in weird positions like she did that night, er, morning, her back hurt when she got up. She climbed out of bed and put her bunny slippers on. She had on light blue pajamas with white little bunnies all over them. When she looked in the mirror she saw that her hair was sticking up in all sorts of weird ways, but she really didn't care. She opened the door to her room, and made sure she closed it so that her kittens wouldn't get out.

The house was quiet. Not a single noise was heard, other than her slippers scooting down the hall carpet. She was guessing everyone else was lucky enough to be able to be still sleeping. As she walked down the marble staircase, she could hear some noises in the kitchen. Not talking, more like sizzling noises. She yawned again as she entered the kitchen.

"Cover your mouth when you yawn, dear." She heard her mother say to her. Kuronu raised an eyebrow. Her mom was by the stove.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she sat down at the table.

"I'm cooking breakfast." She replied happily. Kuronu blinked.

"You know how to cook?" She asked. Her mother sighed.

"Yes, I know how to cook. Unlike your father, I didn't grow up rich where you had other people to cook breakfast for you."

"Oh…" Kuronu said, not really focusing on anything in particular.

"Is everyone else still asleep?" Meisha inquired. Kuronu nodded. She envied them. Darn her back. Wow, she was fifteen years old and she already had back pains. "You all seemed really tired when you got home. You fell asleep on your uncles back." Kuronu just nodded again.

_So that's why I don't remember getting in my bed. Wait, then who put my pajamas on?_

"Eggs dear?" Meisha asked.

"Huh? Oh sure."

"Buttered toast?"

"Uh…one forth with strawberry jam, one forth with grape jelly, one forth just butter, and one forth with butter and cinnamon sugar." Kuronu replied. Her mother blinked.

"Talk about a sweet tooth." She muttered as she fixed the requested toast. Kuronu looked over as her father entered the kitchen. Like her, he looked very tired and his hair was all messy. He was still in his dark blue pajamas which had little blue eyes white dragons on it.

"Morning," He grumbled.

"Morning," Kuronu mumbled back. Meisha snickered. They really were similar. Seto then looked over at his wife.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Making breakfast," She replied. Seto blinked.

"I didn't know you could cook." He said as he walked over to her.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me." She replied as she kissed him on the lips. Kuronu slightly slid under the table.

"I'm scared now." Kuronu mumbled. Her mother rolled her eyes as she set the plate of food in front of her.

"Good morning star shines!" Hiro said cheerfully as he and his brother entered the kitchen, both fully dressed.

"The earth says hello!" Haru finished.

"Morning people scare me." Seto mumbled as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Dad, you're a morning person." Kuronu told him.

"No I'm not. I just have to get up really early, doesn't mean I enjoy it though. Morning people are people who get up early because they either can or want to, and they're totally normal. I am not happy in the morning."

"He's not," Meisha agreed.

"But dad," Hare began. "It's nine am."

"That's late." Hiro agreed. Kuronu and Seto glared at them.

"What ARE you talking about?!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"That's early!" Seto said, whacking them both over the head.

"Ow!" The both cried in unison. As Mallory entered the kitchen, she also whacked them over the head.

"Dorks," she muttered as she began to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"You're actually going to eat breakfast with us?" Hiro asked excitedly.

"We knew you loved us!" Haru said, hugging his sister. Mallory quickly picked up the coffee pot and pour the steaming hot liquid all over her brother's head. He screamed in pain. Hiro looked at his twin then at his sister, who splashed the coffee on him as well. Both Kaiba brothers were now screaming and running around.

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Go dunk your heads in the toilet." She suggested sarcastically. They both looked at her.

"That's a good idea." They both exclaimed as they ran out of the room. Mallory rolled her eyes again and left with her cup. On her way out she shoved past her uncle, who entered the room very confused.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"Don't ask." Seto replied. Mokuba shrugged. He figured he didn't want to know anyways. He sat down at the table next to Kuronu.

"So what'd you think of the concert last night?" He asked her.

"It was good. Really loud, but I gotta admit, Kianna sings well."

"And that's why she's the pop star and your not." Seto said teasingly. Kuronu glared at him.

A few minuets later Haru and Hiro came back. Their faces were slightly red due to the hot coffee, but they seemed back to normal now, well, as normal as they got. "Mallory has such a strange way of expressing her love for us." Hiro said as he sat down.

"She does," Haru agreed. Kuronu, Seto, Meisha, and Mokuba whacked their foreheads. "So Kuronu," aru said as he put his arm around his younger sister. "How bout giving us a hint as to whom your passionate about?" Kuronu sweat dropped.

"That sounded so wrong," Mokuba muttered.

"You STILL haven't figured it out?" she asked.

"Oh pleeeeeeeeease tell us!" They whined.

"No,"

"Guys, guys guys, you can't pester your sister about who love life." Mokuba said to them. Kuronu sighed.

"Thanks uncle," She said.

"You need to be sneakier about it," Mokuba then continued. Kuronu's jaw dropped. "Like spy on her and stuff, observe how she acts around different people." The twins nodded.

"Good plan." Hiro said.

"Very good plan," Haru agreed, smirking evilly.

"Unclllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!" Kuronu cried. "Stop filling their heads with stupid ideas!"

"But they aren't stupid ideas." Her uncle protested. "They're ingenious ideas, right Seto?" Everyone looked at Seto.

"Um…" He began. "Well, I suppose you could say they're ingenious," Kuronu glared at him, Mokuba and the twins stuck their tongues out at her. "But you need to stop anyways." Seto finished quickly.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww," Mokuba and the twins wined. Kuronu smiled triumphantly.

"But stop being such a cry baby." Seto scolded her.

"Wha-? I am not a cry baby." Everyone raised an eyebrow. "I'm not."

"As much," Meisha muttered. Haru and Hiro snickered. After some time everyone else woke up, though still tired. After breakfast, everyone got dresses and brushed their teeth and all that stuff, due to the fact they hadn't already, except for Haru and Hiro who are morning peoples…

Kuronu descended the marble steps with Jaden, Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine. She saw her mom at the bottom of the steps. He had her coat on and gloves. She was holding a piece of paper.

"Going somewhere?" Kuronu asked curiously.

"Yah, I need to get some things at the store." She replied, going over the list.

"Have the maids do it." Kuronu suggested.

Her mother looked at her. "Incase you haven't noticed, I gave them the week off to spend time with their families." Kuronu looked around.

"Oh yah," She muttered. "Why do you need to go to the store?" She inquired.

"It's your sister's birthday," She replied. Kuronu gasped.

"It is!!!???" She exclaimed. Her mother nodded. "It's the twenty-first already?!" She nearly fainted. It had been like, six years since they had celebrated Mallory's birthday. She wasn't used to it.

"Yah, so I need to you bake the cake." Meisha told her.

"Wait, huh?"

"The recipe is on the counter with all the ingredients. Your brothers went out with your uncle, and your father went back to bed, so don't wake him.

"O….k…."

"Oh, can we go with you?" Jasmine asked. The other two girls nodded. "You know, to help." Meisha thought about this, and then nodded.

"Yes, I think your company would be quite nice." The three girls quickly put on their coats and shoes. "I'll see you later." Meisha said as she waved to Jaden and Kuronu. Jaden waved, Kuronu only stood there, her jaw had fallen to the floor.

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"I CAN'T COOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kuronu shouted. It echoed throughout the empty hall.

"Don't worry; it's probably a box mix or something, so it'll be easy." Jaden tried to reassure her.

"I guess," Kuronu muttered as she shuffled to the kitchen. Her jaw dropped. There was a large cook book opened on the counter with ingredients surrounding it. "Great," She muttered.

"Might as well get to work,"Jaden said as he leaned against the counter with his elbow.

"Ok," Kuronu said, reading the box. "One LB. of butter…" She blinked. "What's a LB.?"

"How do you spell it?" Jaden asked.

"L- B." Kuronu replied. The two blinked as the looked at the box.

"Skip it?" Jaden asked. Kuronu nodded.

"Skip it," She echoed. "Ok, um…two eggs," She looked around, Jaden handed her two eggs. Kuronu dropped them into the bowl with out cracking them. "Lets see, what's next?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Zane spit the tooth pasty/ water liquid into the sink. He glanced over as he saw Syrus behind him through the reflection to the mirror.

"Have you seen Jaden?" He asked.

"Nope," Zane replied as he walked back into his room.

"I can't find him or Kuronu anywhere." He continued, following his brother. "Bastion's researching stuff, Chumley's eating in his room, Chazz went back to bed, Kianna's trying to write a new song and kicked me out, and Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine are gone too."

"Maybe they're down stairs?" Zane suggested as he pulled on a black turtle neck.

"Maybe," Syrus thought about this. Maybe they had gone out with him? No, Jaden would've told him. Maybe they were playing a prank on? That was slightly likely. Or perhaps they were in the library? An image of Mallory popped into his mind. Syrus shook his head. "Oh well," He shrugged as he exited the room.

As Zane walked down the marble staircase, he heard shouting. Kuronu shouting.

"WHY. WON'T. IT. WORK?" She exclaimed, pounding the beater in the bowl. She lifted the two eggs out of the liquid. 'Something isn't right here."

"You're supposed to break eggs." Zane said as he entered the kitchen. Kuronu looked at the eggs, the messy kitchen, and cake batter all over her dark red shirt. Her face turned as red as her shirt. "Oh," She muttered embarrassed. Jaden took the two eggs, smashed them together, and dropped them into the bowl, shells and all. Zane winced.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked.

"My mom went out with Alexis and co. and she asked me to bake Mallory's birthday cake 'cause today is her birthday. She explained. Zane walked over to them and peered into the bowl. A sick feeling came over him.

"I see," He said, backing away. He turned at quickly walked up stairs. On his way up he saw Syrus. "I found Kuronu and Jaden." He said to him. They're in the kitchen.

"Cool," Syrus exclaimed as he began to walk past, but his elder brother stopped him.

"They're making Mallory's birthday cake, er, trying to anyways; maybe you could help them make it more…edible." Syrus blinked.

"Ok…" He said as he continued to walk, glancing back at his brother every so often. When Syrus entered the kitchen, he saw Kuronu and Jaden peering in to the oven. "Hey guys," He said as he walked over. He looked around. Flour and dark brown goopy stuff was everywhere, including on his two friends. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for the cake to finish baking." Jaden explained. Syrus peered in, he saw a dark brown goopy mass bubbling inside.

"You call that a cake?!" He exclaimed.

"What else would it be?" Kuronu asked, slightly annoyed that he would dare to insult her hard work. Syrus sighed. He turned the oven off, grabbed some oven mitts, and took the cake out, looking at it quizzically. "Hey, what are you doing?" Kuronu asked.

"Throwing this thing out," Syrus explained as he held it over the trash can, the contents quickly sliding out.

"Noooooooooooooooooo!" Kuronu and Jaden cried as they leaped towards the blue haired boy, only to fall flat on their faces inches behind his heels.

"I understand what Zane meant by 'help them make it more edible.'" He said. "Now, get me a clean bowl and wipe the counter off." The other two quickly got to work on his instructions. Syrus quickly got to work on the cake. He worked so quickly, and stayed clean the whole time. Kuronu and Jaden's jaws dropped.

Syrus then picked up two eggs in his right hand, cracked them together an let the yokes fall into the bowl with out a single shell dropping in.

**45 MINUETS LATER**

Syrus brought the cake out of the oven, perfectly baked. He placed it on the counter. Kuronu and Jaden stared at him. Not a single spec of flower on him.

"He's good," Kuronu muttered.

"Really good," Jaden agreed, nodding.

"I'm going to assume that's there's icing to put on." Syrus said, looking at the two. Kuronu opened the refrigerator door, looked around, then pulled out a container of chocolate icing. She handed it to the blue haired boy. "I'll ice the cake too, just to be sure you two don't screw it up." He glared at them.

"Ok, ok, no need to get angry." Jaden told him as he pushed them. Kuronu rolled her eyes.

"Chefs." She muttered.

"So, are there like, any decorations we need to put up?" Jaden inquired as he followed Kuronu up the steps.

"My mom didn't say anything." Kuronu replied.

"Where is your sister anyways?"

"My mom didn't say anything about her either."

XXXXXXXX

Mallory walked down the streets of Domino city. It was cold and wet due to all the rain, leaving many icicles and ice patches along buildings and roads. She didn't know where she was going, she just decided earlier that morning that she needed to go out, so since then she's been wondering around the city. She stopped walking and glanced up at the gray sky. She blinked as a single rain drop hit her forehead. Several people around her also noticed the falling water. A few seconds later rain was pouring from the sky, sending people running into various buildings to escape the rain. Mallory blinked.

"Great." She muttered in a mono tone voice. She slowly began to walk forward, in no hurry at all to get out of the rain.

XXXXXXXXX

Haru, Hiro, and Mokuba walked down the wet side walk, an umbrella over each head.

"Where shall we journey next?" Mokuba asked as the walked past a vast graveyard. Haru noticed someone sitting by a grave with no umbrella.

"Um, you guys go ahead, I'll catch up later." He said as he ran back to the gate. His uncle and twin stared at him.

"O…k…" Mokuba replied, giving his other nephew a questioning look. Hiro only shrugged. "Meet us at the electronics store." He called after him. Haru nodded as he opened the gate.

Once inside he looked around. About at the top of the hill the girl sat in a desolated area, no other grave stone surrounded the one she was in front of. He quietly approached her. "Hey," He said quietly. The young woman looked up at him, startled. Her brown eyes stared into his blue ones.

"Haru," She muttered. Haru sat down next to her despite the mud. He placed the umbrella over her head.

"Whatcha doin here all alone in the rain?" He asked. "You wanna be sick for Christmas?" Her eyes downcast. Haru looked at the grave stone in front of them, Mayazakie's deceased brother's name engraved on it. Haru was at a loss for words. He wasn't very good at the 'comforting' things. He bit his lip. "You ok?" He finally asked.

"Yah," Maya replied softly, not taking her eyes of the giant slab of stone. "I just…I just really miss him." Haru put his arm around her.

"Course you do. He was your brother. I know I'd be heart broken if one of my siblings passed away, even Mallory." Maya laughed.

"Come on; let's get out of the rain." The young Kaiba said as he stood up. He took the girl's hand and pulled her to her feet. She reluctantly followed.

"So why are you out here?" She asked him.

"Me, Hiro, and my uncle went out to do stuff. You know, just kinda a guys day out." He replied. "We're going to the electronics store if you wanna come." He offered.

"Nah, I think I'll pass." She replied, smirking. "But you can come to my house and have hot chocolate, if you want."

"I don't your dad would-"

"My parents aren't home." She told him. Haru pondered this. He smiled and nodded. Mayazakie rapped her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't know what it is about you Haru Kaiba, but for some reason, some how you always seem to make the world a happier place."

"I try my best."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm soooooooooooo bored." Kuronu moaned as she lay on Jaden's bed. She was lying on her back with her head off the edge. Jaden was attempting to wrap his presents.

"Are you any good at wrapping presents?" He asked her. She looked over at him. He had a piece of tape stuck to his finger, and when he tried to get it off with his other, it'd just get stuck to that one.

"Nooooooooope." She replied. Jaden sighed.

"Maybe Syrus is good at wrapping present too." He wondered aloud.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Kuronu's was all red due to the blood rushing down to her face.

"Maybe you shouldn't do that, you're looking really red." He told her.

"I'm fine." Kuronu replied. But she sat up anyways because she was beginning to slide off. All the blood rushed back down into her bed. He clutched her head as a dizzy feeling came over her.

"You ok?" Jaden asked, watching in slight amusement as her bobbled to the side.

"Yah, she replied, standing up, only to quickly fall over.

XXXXXXXXX

Syrus opened Kuronu's bed room door. "Hey Jaden?" He began, but no one was there. He then heard a crashing sound from Jaden's room. He ran over, leaving Kuronu's bed room door wide open.

XXXXXXXX

"I told you you shouldn't have laid like that." Jaden lectured, though he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"I think I broke something." The youngest Kaiba moaned as she lay on the table that once stood beside Jaden's bed. She reached under her back and pulled out a broken table leg. She slowly sat up. A shattered lamp lay a few inches away from her head.

"Jaden, I heard I crash!" Syrus exclaimed as he ran into the room.

"Oh, hey Sy." Jaden said. "Done with that cake?"

"Uh- huh," Syrus nodded, looking at the scene. "What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing," Kuronu muttered, standing up. "Do I have any table pieces protruding my back?" She asked groggily.

"Not that I can see, though maybe a piece has gone all the way in." Jaden teased. Kuronu rolled her eyes.

"Haha," She muttered. Syrus blinked.

"I'm confused." He said. Jaden laughed.

"Don't worry about it."

XXXXXXXXX

The small kittens that had lived in Kuronu's room for several months without leaving walked up to the ajar door.

"Meow, meow meow, meow meow meow." Machi mewed.

"Meow!" The other agreed. This meant:

"The door is open, now is our chance! Come my brethren, let us go out and take over the world!"

"YAH!!!!"

Or not. No, it more meant:

"Look, the door is open, now we can explore."

"Yay!"

Anyways, the small kittens scurried out of the room, into the large mansion.

XXXXXXX

Kuronu, Jaden, and Syrus walked back to Kuronu's room, but when they got there Kuronu gasped. "Why is my door open?!" She exclaimed. She quickly ran in and began to look around under her bed and in the giant walk in closet.

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"The kittens!" She exclaimed. "Where are the kittens?!" She shook Jaden by the collar of his shirt. Jaden grabbed her hands and removed them from his shirt.

"Kuronu, calm down." He told her.

"Calm down?! HowcanIcalmdown?!Whatidthekittensgotoutofmyroomandareexploringthehouse,whatifmydadfindsthem," she said very quickly. "I'M GOING TO DIE!!! Or at least be grounded for several moths." She concluded. "So who left the door open!!!??" Syrus waved.

"H- hi," He said. Kuronu shot him a murderous glare. She stalked over to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up off the ground.

"You left the door open?!!!" she exclaimed.

"Um….yah…"

"How-"

"What's going on?" Everyone looked at the door, only to see Zane. Kuronu's face turned bright red. She looked at him, he seemed rather angry; she looked at Syrus whom she had lifted off the ground. She slowly put the younger Truesdale down.

"I didn't mean to harm him, it's just he left my door open, and I think my kitties got out, and if my dad finds them," She put her index finger nail. "I'm going to die." She said. Dropped to the floor and hugged her knees against her chest. She fell over to the side and rocked back and forth as she sucked her thumb. The three guys stared at her weirdly.

"Then shouldn't we be trying to catch them instead of just standing…" Zane looked at Kuronu. "Laying here?" Kuronu stood up.

"You're a genius!" She cried. "So let's find those kitties!" She punched the air with her fist and marched out of the room.

"Talk about a mood swing." Jaden commented.

"No kidding," Syrus agreed. "Anyways, we should as Bastion, Chumley, and Kianna to help." Zane and Jaden nodded.

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Well, I guess I'll end it there. I was hoping to do the cake, the kitty searched, and do something with Mallory's birthday, but if I did it'd probably be 28 pages long again. So yah, but I shall start writing the next chapter as soon as I post this one, so it should be up soon…I hope. Ok, please review, no harsh flames.


	29. the kitty chase

**Authoresses note: Ok, new chapter. Thanks everyone who reviewed, I hate my computer right now, cuz it's slow, and I hate that I only have about 10 minuets to write right now.**

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Chapter 29: the kitty chase.

Mayazakie put a mug in front of Haru, and then set down across from his with her own cup. She had changed into dry clothes, being a pair of light jeans and lime green sweater with a light purple scarf. Like, not one of those scarves that you wear in the snow, one of those long scarves you wear…whenever you feel like.

"So," Maya began, trying to come up with some sort of conversation. "You excited about Christmas?"

"You know I am." Haru replied with a big smile. Maya smiled. An awkward silence fell over them.

"What about you?" Haru asked, trying to break that silence.

"Huh? Oh yep, really excited." The blonde replied.

"Good, good." Haru said, nodding his head as he looked around. "Only Mallory wouldn't be excited." Mayazakie laughed.

"How is Mallory? I heard she was in a car accident."

"Oh, she's doing fine. She'll probably have a scar going across her face for the rest of her life but, guess it kinda serves her right." Haru replied.

"What do you mean?" Maya inquired. Haru shrugged.

"She was drunk or something and was driving on the wrong side of the road." He replied.

"Oh," Maya said, staring into her mug of hot chocolate.

"Anyways," Haru said quickly, wanting to change the subject. "Um…how's Tishigie?" He asked.

"She's good." Maya replied curtly.

"Good." Haru replied awkwardly. The two sat there, in awkward silence again. Haru opened his mouth to say something, but no words came to mind. He rested his elbow on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. _I hate awkward silences_. He thought to himself.

"How's Kuronu?" Maya finally asked. "Like, has she gotten better since last time?"

"Oh yah, she's fine now, as klutzy as ever." Maya giggled. "Though Hiro and I have discovered that she has a crush on one of the guys in her group." Maya leaned forward.

"Oh really?" She asked. "Who?" Haru looked down into his mug. "Who is it?" She asked again.

"Oh, um, we're not sure." He replied. Maya raised an eyebrow. "It's not Jaden or Syrus or anyone else so…" He paused.

"You know who it is." Maya said.

"I do?" Haru asked. The blonde nodded.

"You both do, I just think you've convinced yourself that you don't."

"Why would we do that?" Haru inquired.

"Maybe because a part of you doesn't want to know?" Haru raised an eyebrow, confused. She sighed, though was smiling. "I haven't seen her for a while, but you said it wasn't Jaden or anyone else, though you know it's someone, who's the most likely person for her to like?"

"Jaden?" Maya shook her head.

"Well, I think Zane."

"Z- Zane? Why would she like him? He never looses his cool, he's a great duelist, even though he doesn't show it, nice guy," Maya gave him an accusing look.

"You knew it was Zane the whole time, haven't you?" She asked. Haru leaned back in his chair.

"I guess," He muttered. "I guess Hiro and I just…I don't know."

"Couldn't except the fact that your sister likes you best friend and that possibly your best friend could end up liking her?"

Haru smirked. "Yah, probably that, and it was fun annoying her with questions. I mean, if we let her know right away that we knew what fun was that?" Maya smiled at him.

"You've known since the first day they came home, haven't you?" Haru shrugged.

"I suppose. I mean, it was kinda obvious. Zane, for being so smart, is pretty stupid for not seeing that she likes him." Maya got up and walked over to him. She sat on the edge of the table.

"You're really smart Haru, both you are. You don't always have to act so stupid." Haru looked down into his cup.

"But it's fun to act stupid. You can get away with more stuff. See, the way me and Hiro see it is if you act all smart and normal, it'll be harder on you when you mess up, because people are expecting you to be perfect, but if you always mess up and stuff then no one cares when you do because you always do and it's no big deal." Maya blinked.

"I suppose I can see SOME wisdom in that…though not much." She added, smirking at him.

"I think that's the way Kuronu feels," Haru said suddenly. "She wants to live up to everyone's expectations, wants to be perfect, but being human makes that impossible."

"So," Maya began. "Your saying that because she tries to act 'perfect' it's a bigger deal when she messes up?"

"Yup,"

"So she should act more like you guys?" Maya could help but raise an eyebrow.

"Yup,"

"Yah, some how I don't think that's a good idea"

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu peered down the hall. "Some of you go downstairs, some of you go that way," She pointed behind her. "Jaden, you come with me." So she and Jaden crept down the hall. They saw a small, orange and white kitten trying to push open a door.

"There's one!" Jaden called out.

"Sush!" Kuronu hissed. "Jaden, do you have any idea whose room that is?" She asked her eyes wide with terror.

"Um…no." Jaden replied.

"That's my dad's room," She whispered.

"Wow, talk about ironic."

"Come on, we have to get that kitty before it goes in there." Kuronu sprinted down the hall. Just as she jumped to catch it, it pushed the door open and scurried in. Kuronu dropped to the floor with a thud. "Why does that keep happening to me today?" She asked as Jaden ran over to her.

The two slifers peered into the room. The kitten looked up and her parent's bed, then-much to Kuronu's horror- jumped up onto the bed and under the covers. She whacked her forehead. "Great," She muttered as she eyed her father. The worst case scenario would be that he woke up. "Come," She whispered. "We must do this sneakily." Jaden blinked.

"Sneakily?" He shrugged and crawled after the young Kaiba. Jaden looked around the room in awe. It was huge. Kuronu looked at the bed, trying to find the small lump in the bed that would be the kitten. She saw, snuggling up against her dad. She screamed silently. If she didn't act quickly, her dad would wake up, find the small creature, and murder her, well, after he murdered her brothers.

She stood up, then, jumped onto the bed, trying to cup her hands around the kitten, but ended up landing on it, causing it to cry out in pain. It ran across her dad's leg, waking him up. Yes, the scene looked very odd indeed. Jaden ran after the cat as it ran out of the room.

"Kuronu," Her father began to ask. "What in hell are you doing?" He asked.

"Um…you see…it's like…" No explanation came to mind. "I'm gonna like, go now." She said as she slowly walked to the door, the then turned and ran. Seto blinked.

After some thought he came to this conclusion: "I get it, I'm dreaming. Yep, this is all just a nightmare."

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu sighed. "That's was close."

"Here's the cat." Jaden said as he handed her the orange cat.

"Ok, one down, five to go."

XXXXXXXXX

"At least only her dad's home." Syrus said as he and his older brother looked under furniture in the living room.

"If only you hadn't left her door open." Zane grumbled, banging his head on a chair for the umpteenth time.

"I told you, I heard a crash so I was worried, you would've done the same thing." Zane didn't answer this time.

He looked under the couch. A fur ball suddenly ran into his face, knocking him back wards. Zane looked at the small kitten that was sitting on his chest. It looked up at him with big, blue eyes, mewing very cutely.

"Aw, I think it likes you." Syrus said, snickering as it began to lick his brother's face.

"Woop- dee- do." Zane replied, picking the cat up and handing it to Syrus. "Come on, let's look in the kitchen."

XXXXXXX

Bastion opened one of the empty room doors. "Oh come on, a cat can't open a door." Chazz told him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"You'd be surprised what a cat can do." Chazz only rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe that snobby pop star would help. She's an ego maniac." Chazz complained.

"Like your one to talk." Bastion commented. The youngest Princeton only glared at him. As they walked down the hall, they heard a soft 'mew'. They looked down to see a black and white kitten. Chazz picked it up and glared at it.

"Do you have any idea what trouble you've caused us?" He asked it. It mewed and licked his face. "Ew! Now I have cat koodies!"

"Cat koodies?" Bastion asked, looking at Chazz weirdly.

"Here, you hold it!" Chazz shoved the cat into Bastions hands. "Let's get this over with.

XXXXXXXX

"Well, is should get going." Haru announced as he stood up. "I'll see you…whenever."

"I heard my parents say something about going to your house for Christmas." Maya told him. "I think your mom invited us and the Moto's."

"Oh, my dad will love that." Haru said sarcastically as he put his coat back on. "Then I'll see you on Christmas." He said. He put his hand on her cheek and kissed her for several moments. He then turned around and opened the back door. He looked back at her before closing the door behind him.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu counted the kittens. "Ok, we have five." She said, looking at them. "Now where's Machi?" She asked frantically. Everyone shrugged. She then heard an 'eh-hem' from behind her. Zane was holding the white kitten by the scruff of its neck. Scratch marks were all over his face. Syrus snickered. Kuronu gasped.

"Machi!" She cried. She grabbed the kitten who licked her on the nose. "Oh my gosh, your so cute!" She cried. "But very, very bad." She added quickly. "I'm so sorry Zane." She said as she put the kitten down. As she did so she stepped on one of the other kitty's tail. The kitten 'mewed' loudly, scaring all the other kittens, causing them all to run off.

"No!" Chazz cried. "Why do you have to be such a klutz?!" Chazz yelled

"Nooooooooooooo!" Kuronu cried, dropping to her knees. "Why? Why??!!!" Zane blinked, which was painful. Why did the cat always scratch him? Why?

"Looks like we'll just have to start over." Bastion said. "At least they all went downstairs."

"Yah," Jaden said, patting Kuronu on the back. "It'll be easy." Kuronu sighed as she stood up.

"Yah, you're right."

XXXXXXXXX

Mallory shoved her hands in her pockets. _Note to self: Half finger gloves DO NOT keep your fingers warm. Don't wear when it's freezing cold…wait, isn't 'freezing cold' redundant? _She shrugged. As she passed an ally way she saw a little kid and two guys, apparently trying to take the kid's money.

"Please, I need that money!" The little boy cried.

Mallory blinked as she passed the ally way. _It's not my problem._ She told herself.

"I need to buy my mom a present!"

"Just shut up kid!" one of the men kicked the kid in the stomach.

_Not my problem!" _As Mallory got farther and farther away, she could just barely hear the kid say: "But my mom is really sick, this might be the last Christmas I spend with her." He cried. Mallory gritted her teeth. As she took her next step, she swiftly turned around and walked back to the ally.

"Well lucky you," One of the men said to him, raising a fist. "You're gonna get to join her this year." He laughed.

"Oi!" Mallory said. "You wanna explain to me why I wasn't invited to the party?"

"Get outa hear lady, it's none of your business."

"Yah I know that, but see, all the way in the very back of me head, way, way, deep, deep, deep, deep, DEEP down there, I still have a conscience…but it's WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY down there. I just barely heard it."

"Oh yah, well whatcha gonna do about it?"

"This," Mallory replied as she ran forward and punched the guy right in the face. As he flew backwards she jumped into the air, flipped, and when she came down slammed her victim down to the earth with her right leg. She landed on her left foot, her right leg still stretched out in front of her. She looked at the other man, and smirked as he began to run away.

"Where do you think your going?" She asked as she ran up to him. She grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back into the ally. She then kicked him right in the stomach, sending him flying back into the ally wall. The eldest Kaiba spit on the ground. "To easy." She muttered, examining her work. The little boy stared at her fearfully. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked. "Go get your dying mom a present, or are you gonna stand here all die crying like a baby?" The little boy stood up straight and smiled at her.

"Thank you." He cried as he hugged her.

"Who, get off me!" She lightly shoved the little kid backwards. Just then she heard a bunch of cars pull up with sirens, followed by guns being cocked.

"Put your hands in the air!" A man shouted at her. Mallory put her hands up without even looking back.

"I saw it all," She then heard a woman say. "She was trying to take this kids money, and then those two men came to help, but she beat them up!"

"What a horrible person." Another person said.

"We're going to have to take you to the station to ask some questions." The man said as he put his gun to her back.

"Whatever." Mallory mumbled in the same mono tone voice. The man then noticed the tow guns strapped to her belt.

"What are you trying to pull?!" He shouted. "Drop your guns!" Mallory tossed her prized pistols to the ground with out a word. "Now get in the car!" Mallory just rolled her eyes as the officer hand cuffed her and shoved her into the back of his car. "Stealing money from a kid near Christmas," He muttered. "Unbelievable."

XXXXXXXX

"Ok," Kuronu said. She and everyone else, excluding Kianna, were gathered around at the top of the staircase. "That's all over them, except…" She looked at the kittens. "Machi!" She cried.

"Of course," Zane muttered.

"Man, where could she be?" She then heard the all to familiar 'mew' of the most troublesome kitty. "Mach-" She whirled around, only to see her father holding the kitten by the scruff of it's neck, scratches all over his face along with the deadly scowl. "My electronic kitty…" She said as she took the kitten. It licked her on the nose, but she didn't notice this time. Everyone glanced around nervously.

"You want to explain that to me?" He asked coldly.

"Well…you see…Haru and Hiro found them a while ago so I lockd them in my closet with food and water and Haru and Hiro have been taking care of them while I was at the academy!" Kuronu explained quickly. She fell to her knees. "Please don't kill me!!"

Her father was about to respond when the phone rang. Everyone looked down the stairs where there was a little table between the two sets. A gold telephone was on top of it. "The house phone is ringing?" Kuronu asked, staring at it in shock. "The house phone NEVER rings." Seto walked down the steps and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" He asked. They could hear someone talking, but couldn't understand what he was saying. "What?!" Seto exclaimed. Kuronu winced. He seemed even angrier now, if that was even possible. He slapped his forehead. "I'll be right over." He said to the person he was talking. He hung up the phone and sighed.

"Who was it?" Kuronu asked.

"Your sister has gotten arrested." He replied. Everyone gasped.

"Are you serious?!" Kuronu exclaimed. No one else was quite sure of what to say.

"Apparently she tried to steal money from a kid, and then beat up these two guys who tried to stop her." Kuronu blinked.

"Wow…that's a new low even for Mallory."

"Yah, well I need to go down to the police station. I'll be back later, hopefully with Mallory, though that may take a while." Seto put on his coat and shoes then went to the garage, slamming the door behind him. Kuronu stared at the front door in shock.

"I can't believe your sister actually got arrested." Chazz commented.

"Yah, me neither." Kuronu replied.

XXXXXXXX

"Did you, or did you not try to steal the little boy's money?' The officer asked, getting annoyed. Mallory just rolled her eyes. "I'm really getting tired of the silent treatment, so if you want to go home, you best start answering my questions.

"Like anyone's going to want me home." Mallory told him. Her feet were up on the table, her arms crossed over her chest.

"That's not true. I called you father and he's on his way to get you." The officer explained to her. Mallory just rolled her eyes. "Fine, we can stay here all night, I don't mind. Today's not my birthday." Mallory sat up and glared at him.

"How did you know that?" She asked coldly.

"Have you forgotten so quickly how you nearly killed a police officer last year?" The officer asked her, leaning forward. "We have a record on you. We know your birthday, blood type, finger prints, everything, that way if you ever actually kill someone, we can find you." He then leaned back in his chair. "That's why you're in here. Normally we wouldn't arrest someone because they merely tried to steal money from a kid, oh no, you're in here because we were afraid that you might kill that poor child."

Mallory sat back in her chair, once again putting her feet up on the table. She glared at the officer coldly. "Now," The man continued. "Answer my question!" He hollered. Mallory smirked.

"I don't need to explain myself to you. You're just a scare little man who talks big. You're a worthless buffoon who probably couldn't even tie his shoes with out help from his mommy." She taunted.

"Yes, you do need to explain yourself to me, because if you don't, you go to jail, understood?"

"Perfectly," Mallory said, the idea of her going to jail amused her.

XXXXXXXX

Everyone who had gone out seemed to come home all at once, making things extra confusing.

"Kuronu, guess what," Hiro said excitedly as his youngest sister descended the stairs.

"We got the game dude sp!" Haru finished.

"Sweet!" said Kuronu excitedly.

"Where's your father?" Meisha asked the young girl.

"Oh yah, he went to the police station to try to bail Mal out of jail." She explained.

"What?!" The twins, Meisha, Mokuba, Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, Karma, and Marik all cried at the same time. "Why's Mallory in jail?!" Meisha asked.

"Um, something about mugging a kid." She replied.

"Well, that's what happens when the biggest jerk in the world is your father." Karma commented.

"When did he leave?" Mokuba asked.

"Uh, like, two hours ago."

"Has he called?" Meisha inquired worriedly, now pacing around the crowded room.

"Nope," Kuronu replied shortly. Meisha now began to babble on about different things like why Mallory would do such a thing, why hadn't Seto called; what if he was in a car crash, got arrested too, ECT.

"Maybe you guys should go up stairs." Mokuba whispered to her as Marik and Karma tried to calm down her nervous mother.

"Good idea." Kuronu agreed. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley, who were at the top of the steps, and Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine, followed her to her room, where everyone else was.

"What'd we miss?" Alexis asked as she walked beside Kuronu.

"A lot," Kuronu replied. "For instance, all the kittens escaped from me room and my dad found Machi."

"What did he do?" Mindy asked, worried for the cat's lives.

"Nothing, that's when the police called and said that Mallory had been arrested,"

"Man, how come we always miss the good stuff?" Jasmine whined. Kuronu opened her bedroom door.

"So what's going on?" Chazz asked as soon as she entered the room.

"Meh, everyone came home, told my mom my sister was in jail, and now she's having a nervous breakdown. Don't you just love my family?" Everyone sweat dropped.

"Your brothers hot!" Mindy cried randomly. Kuronu's eye twitched.

"Ooooooooooooookkkk."

"You do know that they're not really single, right?" Alexis asked her boy crazy friend. "Or did you not hear that because you were too busy gapping over her uncle?" Kuronu shivered at this. Mindy liking her thirty some year old was just…disturbing.

"Marik's hot too." The girl continued.

"Ew, that's my dad you're talking about." Kianna said, standing up from the chair she was in.

"Sorry," Mindy apologized.

XXXXXXXX

Seto yawned as he sat in a chair at the police station. When he arrived they told him that they were 'interrogating' his daughter. That had been several hours ago. Couldn't they just make him pay a fine or something and let him take her home? It was her birthday after all, though he supposed they weren't going to do that because of the reason she was here last time, being last year.

He looked at his watch. It read 8:45. He banged his head on the back of the chair. _Why can't I have a normal job with a normal family living in a normal house, leading a normal life? _

XXXXXXXXX

"Just answer the question." The officer begged. Mallory smirked as his misery. "Look, I don't want to be here any more than you do-"

"Who said I didn't want to be here? I'm enjoying myself." She interrupted, smiling smugly. The officer glared at her. "If you don't want to be here, then just have my dad pay the BEEP fine, so we can both leave."

"I can't leave," The officer grumbled. "Jim went home sick today so I have to work night shift too."

"Oh, how very, very awful." Mallory told him, her tone dripping with sarcasm. He glared at her again.

"You're just full of witty little comments, aren't you?"

"I guess you could say that." She replied, not letting go of her arrogant smirk. The officer sighed.

"Mother was right; I should've worked at McDonalds." Mallory raised one slender eyebrow, the only one visible that is.

"You're even more pathetic than my pathetic family." She told him.

"I know," He agreed. The eldest Kaiba could tell he was loosing it, meaning he was going to tell her his sappy life story. "It all started when I was five, other kids would tease me 'cause of my bed wetting problem."

Mallory cringed. _Great, now I get to hear about his childhood problems such as bed wetting, then we'll get into his teen years and how he had a million zits, and he could never get a date. Why can't they just send me to jail?_

**2 HOURS LATER**

Seto looked at his watch. "What the hell is that guy doing? Telling her some sappy life story because she was so smug and he lost it? That's what happened last time."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"And no matter what I did, I could never seem to get a date. So I figured-"

"Look," Mallory interrupted. Her smug smile was replaced with a murderous scowl. "I've sat through your riveting story for two hours, but I'm through listening, SO JUST GET TO THE POINT OF ALL THIS!!!!!!!!!" she hollered.

"I don't care about your pathetic life, for a simple reason: You don't have one for anyone to care about! So I suggest you quit telling your pathetic stories to your convicts and FIND a life, got it?" She was now the one with her hands on the table standing up. The officer was leaning back in his chair. He then regained his composer and sat up.

"Let's just pay that fine." He grumbled as he stood up. Mallory rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest as she followed him.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Finally," Seto grumbled as he stood up.

"Your daughter is quite difficult to deal with. Because she didn't say anything as to whether or not she tried to steal the child's money or not, we shall assume she did, meaning you have a fine to pay." Seto glared at Mallory as he pulled out his wallet.

"That's her!" A little boy said as he ran into the station. "That's her dad! She saved me!" A man with gray hair came behind the child. Everyone looked at the little boy.

"Are you the one who saved my son?" The man asked Mallory.

"Um,"

"Oh thank you so much." He said, taking both her hands and his and shaking them. "He ran off to a store to buy his sick mother who's in the hospital a Christmas present. When he told me that you had been accused of trying to hurt him, I went around to all the police stations looking for you so I could tank you."

The little boy ran up to her and hugged her. "My mom was so happy when she saw the present I got her, and it's all thanks to you!" he cried. Seto smirked.

"Ok, get off me!" Mallory yelled as she pushed the kid away. She folded her arms and looked the other way as the child smiled up at her.

"What was that about a fine?" Seto asked the officer with an evil smirk.

"Uh…you're free to go Miss Kaiba." He replied in an apologetic tone.

"Whatever," She mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

"Bye, um, what was your name?" The child asked her. Seto smirked at her. Mallory rolled her eyes.

"It's Mallory." She told the kid, letting her arms drop to her sighed. "My name's Mallory."

"Cool, my name's Kaito, what's your middle name?" Mallory's jaw dropped.

"My m-? You have got to be kidding me! I mean," She little at Kaito and his big, brown, sparkly eyes. She sighed. "My full name is Mallory Ann Kaiba, ok? And incase you also want to know, today is my birthday, the darkest day of the year, I'm 21 years old, my blood type is A, I'm left handed-"

"Ok Mallory, I can see you're very attached to this child," Her father began.

"Attached?! I was just telling him so he didn't ask! I don't like him! I hate him!" She yelled as her father dragged her out of the building.

"Bye Mallory Ann!" Kaito called to her as he waved. "Your name is really pretty by the way, I hope I can see you again."

Mallory stopped struggling as she stared at the boy. Her eyes softened. She pulled her arm from her fathers grasp and opened the car door.

The drive home was silent, until Seto broke the silence. "So, was it just me, or was the actually softness in your eyes as we left?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mallory replied. "I didn't save the kid." She said before her father could bring that up. "I just wanted an excuse to beat the heck out of people, I didn't care about the kid or his stupid sick mother AT ALL."

"Of course you didn't"

By the time they got home it was ten o'clock. The house was almost completely dark. "I'm pretty sure we were going to have some sort of party for you," Seto began. "But since you went and got your self arrested,"

"Whatever,"

"I think there are some things for you in the kitchen." He told her as she began to walk up stairs. She stopped, turned around and began to walk to the kitchen. "Happy birthday Mal," He said quietly as she passed.

"Whatever,"

When Mallory got into the kitchen she saw a large chocolate cake and three wrapped packages. After staring at them for several moments, she picked them up and took them to her room. Once in her room- after turning off the security system via a necklace- she put the cake on a table by her bed, and then threw the presents on her bed. She walked over to the fireplace, flipped a switch, and it immediately was ablaze. She then sat on her bed and stared at the presents for several moments.

She then reached over and grabbed a chunk of the cake. "Hm," She licked the chocolate icing off of her fingers. "Not bad." Once the cake and icing were completely 'cleaned' from her fingers she picked up one of the packages. A card was on the top. It read:

_To our beloved sister Mallory whom we love and care for greatly._

_With much love,_

_Haru and Hiro._

"Weirdoes," She muttered as she ripped the paper off. It was a CD player, a really fancy one with a radio, and other cool stuff. It was also really shiny. It didn't need batteries, instead you had to recharge with a cord. "Oooooooook, I need this why?" She shrugged. She then picked up a smaller one. _Probably a CD. _It was flat and square. A card was on that one as well.

_To: Mallory_

_From: Kuronu_

She ripped off the paper, and she was right. An evenesence CD. (Hope I spelled that right) "Whoop- de- doe." One last present remained, obviously from her parents. Again, a card was in it saying whom it was to and by whom it was given. Beneath the wrapping paper was a small, velvet box. Inside it was a necklace that had a black chain and small, blood red roses along it. Above the necklace was a pair of matching rose earrings.

"How…" She couldn't find a word to describe them. "Expensive looking." She finished. She closed the box and threw everything off her bed, scattering them across the floor. She threw her head back onto the pile of pillows and stared out the glass door that led to the balcony that was across from her bed. She could here the wood in the fire place crackling.

She then noticed a picture that was on a table beside her bed. Atticus was smiling, and in his arms was a brown hair girl with bright, sparkling blue eyes. She was also smiling.

"Why did you leave and where did you go?" She asked the man in the picture quietly. "And what has happened to my life?" Her eyes drooped as she slowly fell asleep.

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Ok, I'll end it there. Um, I'll try to update again as soon as possible, so please review, no flames. Wow, this must be the shortest authoress's note I've ever written, so I'll keep it that way.


	30. Christmas Eve

0Authoresses note: Thanks so much guys for reviewing. Yay!!! 30th chapter!!!...and I've hardly gotten anywhere…ok, I'm gonna have to stop going on and on with random things…even I myself and random so that's going to be rather difficult, but I shall try my best to get to the point of things from now on.

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Chapter 30: Christmas Eve.

_Mallory sat beneath a big tree. Her shoulder length brown hair swaying in the wind, her eyes glued to a very large book. _

"_Hi," She heard a happy voice say to her. She looked up and saw a brown haired boy standing next to her. She rolled her eyes._

'_Must be a freshman,' she thought to herself._

"_My name's Atticus Rhodes, what's yours?" He asked._

"_You mean you don't know who I am?" She asked, slightly insulted that he wouldn't know a Kaiba when he saw one._

"_Am I supposed to?" He asked embarrassedly. She shrugged._

"_I guess,"_

"_Oh…well, sorry. I'm a first year at the academy." He explained. "So I'm trying to get to know everyone as best that I can."_

_The young woman examined him. 'At least he's an obelisk.' She eyed his dark blue uniform. _

"_So what's your name?" He asked again. She sighed._

"_Mallory," She replied. "I'm Mallory Kaiba." Atticus looked a bit dumbfounded. _

"_Oh, your one of those Kaibas," He scratched the back of his head. "Your dad made this school, right?"_

"_Yup. It was one of the worst things he ever thought of." She replied mono tone._

"_Why is it bad?"_

"_Because, dueling…I like it and everything, it's sorta fun, but it's not my favorite cup of tea." She then looked at the book she was reading. "The library here sucks."_

"_Oh, so you like to read." Mallory rolled her eyes._

"_Yes, I like to read."_

"_That's cool. My sis, Alexis, she loves to read. She'll come to the school in…four years I think." Mallory raised an eyebrow._

"_What a coincidence, mine too."_

"_You have a little sister?" Atticus asked._

"_Unfortunately," She replied, now looking back at her book._

"_How cool, maybe they'll meat each other. Well, of they're both coming the same year, they're bound too." Atticus slightly laughed._

"_Yah, whoopee." She began to stand up. "Look, abacus,"_

"_Um, my name's 'Atticus'."_

"_Whatever, the point is, I have to get going."_

"_Oh, ok. Well I guess I'll see you later then. Oh wait, what's your middle name?" Mallory looked at like he was an idiot._

"_Excuse me?" She asked._

"_Um, I was just kind of wondering what your middle name was, if that's ok?" _

"_Ann," She finally replied. _

"_So your full name is Mallory Ann Kaiba," Atticus looked up at the sky. Big, puffy white clouds lined the light blue color of the sky. "That's a really pretty name." He finally said. Mallory blinked._

"_Um…thanks?" She said as she turned to leave._

"_Bye Mal." Atticus called after her as he waved._

'_Freak," Mallory thought to herself._

Mallory sat right up in bed. Sweat rolled down her cheeks as she breathed heavily. She looked at the clock. It was eight forty- five in the morning, the morning of Christmas Eve. She then heard a knock at her door.

"Hey, Mallory, wake up." She heard Hiro say.

"Yah, get up you silly sleepy head." Haru said.

"It's Christmas Eve!"

"Christmas Eve Charlie!" Mallory raised an eyebrow.

"Why'd you call her Charlie?" Hiro asked his twin.

"I don't know, it just came out." Haru replied. Mallory rolled her eyes.

"Go to hell, you BEEP." She shouted.

"But Mallory," They both whined. She picked up a lamp so hard that the plug came out, she then threw it at the door, and it shattered.

"Leave. Me. Alone!" She called as she heard her brothers run away. She laid her head back down on her pillows. "That kid," She muttered, remembering the kid from a few days ago. "What the hell did that kid do to me?" She clutched her head and rolled onto her side. "I've haven't thought once about the day I met him until now." She remembered the images and the conversation of her dream, which was of when she first met him. "He was a freak." She thought as she sat up and looked around her room.

A plate sat beside her bed. It had been the plate that once held the cake given too her for her birthday. It now only had little crumbs on it. She got up and pushed open the glass doors that led to the balcony. The cold, winter air blew her hair. The sky was a grayish blue with a few clouds scattered across the sky. "At least it won't rain."

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu, Jaden, Syrus, and Zane walked down stairs towards the kitchen. "Oh Santa, I can't wait for you to come, oh just can't wait for you to come," Jaden sang.

"I don't even want to know where you got that song." Kuronu commented.

"Your brothers got it from some American show." He explained. Kuronu anime sweat dropped.

"I knew there was a reason I didn't want to know."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!????" They suddenly heard Kuronu's dad yell from the kitchen. "What do you mean The Motos are coming over for Christmas?"

"Don't forget the wheelers." Meisha corrected. Seto's jaw dropped. "And to answer your question, I figured that Yugi and Joey would want to see Marik."

"They could've seen him all week!"

"Yah, but I still wanted to have them all over. Tea, Mai, and I figured it was time you and Joey got over your 'thing'."

"We don't have a 'thing', what we have is a pure hatred for each other." Seto told her.

"…Yah. The point is, they're coming over tomorrow afternoon weather you like it or not." Seto crossed his arms and glared at her.

"Well, I don't like. Why do you always have to do this to me?"

Kuronu poked her head around the door. After hearing the conversation, she ran back to the narthex where the others were. "Well, Jaden, you'll get to see Yugi again. He's coming over."

"Yah, we could hear." Syrus commented.

"Kuronu!!!!" Seto yelled. Kuronu froze. Her dad walked into the room, his face covered in scratches. He was holding the small, white kitten named Machi. "I told you, if you want to keep your cats, they stay in your room where I never see them again!" Kuronu quickly took the kitten, which licked her nose.

"Why do you always do that?" She asked it.

"Meow." It replied. Kuronu sighed. Seto rolled his eyes and went back to the kitchen.

"Oh Santa, I can't wait for you to come, oh just can't wait for you to come," Haru and Hiro sang in perfect unison as they descended the stairs. "I have a cookie," Haru sang.

"A yummy cookie," Hiro echoed. They reached the bottom of the steps and put their arms around Zane. "Sing with us!" They began to swing back in forth, dragging Zane with them. "Just for you for when you come, only for you for when you come," Zane glared at the wall as the twins swayed him back and forth. "Because it's Christmas!!" A vase suddenly shattered at their feet as Mallory descended the stair case, glaring at them with her trade mark murderous glare.

"Mallory, you broke one of dad's priceless, irreplaceable vases." Haru said, looking at the vase pieces.

"You're in trouble." Mallory grabbed both of them by the collar of their shirts.

"Not if he thinks you guys did it." They both sweat dropped. She pushed them both back and walked to the kitchen.

"She doesn't seem to be in a good mood today." Haru commented.

"Not in a good mood at all." Hiro agreed.

"You can tell?" Jaden and Syrus both exclaimed together.

"Now what are you slackers complaining about?" Chazz asked.

"Oh hey Chazz," Jaden said. "We're not complaining about anything. We're just shocked that Haru and Hiro can tell what kind of mood Mallory is in."

"A constant bad one." Chazz suggested. Haru and Hiro laughed.

"No one can be in a constant bad mood." Hiro told him.

"Yah, everyone is happy once in a while."

"When's Mallory happy?" Syrus asked, glancing at Kuronu, who shrugged.

"When people are in pain." Haru replied. Everyone fell over anime style.

"It used to be when ever she saw Atticus," Hiro said.

"But now she just gets in an even worse mood when people talk about him or when she thinks about him." Haru explained. Everyone looked at them blankly.

"Another thing that makes her happy is little kids." Hiro told them. Everyone stared at him in shock.

"Little kids?" Kuronu exclaimed. "Little kids make her happy?!"

"Kuronu, you mean to tell me that you don't know what makes your own sister happy?" Haru asked, completely mortified.

"Shame on you." Hiro told her. "But yes, little kids makes her happy. See, when ever she sees sweet, little, innocent children, she feels all warm and fluffy, and she punches us in the face when ever she walks by, meaning she's happy."

"But she threw a vase at you, so wouldn't she be happy then?" Syrus asked, very confused.

"Oh no," Haru began. "See, she didn't inflict harm to us, she was warning us, and when she warns people, well,"

"She's in VERY bad mood." Hiro finished.

"I'm confused." Jaden said.

"Me too," Syrus agreed.

"Me three, and she's my sister." Kuronu commented. She then looked down at Machi. "Well, I'd better take Machi up to my room, before she claws anyone else." Zane glared at the cat. He still had scars from the two times the cat had scratched him.

As Kuronu walked up stairs she ran into Kianna, which was rare because the pop star hardly came out of her room. "Oh hey Kianna." Kuronu greeted her.

"Hey, where you going with the cat?" she asked.

"To my room, my dad said I could keep them as long as they stayed there and he never saw or heard them again." The young Kaiba explained.

"Ooh… so do you guys do anything special tonight?" Kuronu thought about this.

"Well, we have a big dinner…though we always have a big dinner, and we usually go to bed early because my brothers get us up at seven o'clock in the morning." Kuronu told her.

"Cool…I guess. You know what my friends and I do?" Kuronu shook her head no. "We stay up really late and play 'truth or dare.' It's really awesome."

"That does sound kind of fun…I guess." Kuronu thought about it.

"Mindy and the other three girls also agreed that it would be fun." Kianna told her. Kuronu sweat dropped.

"Mindy will agree with anything you say." She muttered. Kianna, having heard it laughed.

"She does, doesn't she?" She stared off into space for a moment. "Well, I need to get going. My parents and I are going out for breakfast."

"Ok, have fun." Kuronu continued to walk to her room. _I never go out to breakfast with my family._ She stood in front of her closed door for a moment until a loud 'eh-hem' interrupted her thoughts. She turned around and saw her uncle.

"Whatcha doin?" He asked, leaning down so his head was level with hers.

"Thinking." Kuronu replied. Machi reached up her paw to scratch her uncle, but her stood up straight.

"Quite a ferocious kitty you got there." He smiled as he said this.

"She sure is," Kuronu agreed, glaring at the kitten. Mokuba laughed.

"I guess your mom told your dad that the Motos and company are coming tomorrow, huh?" Kuronu blinked. Mokuba chuckled. "I could hear your father yell from the shower." He explained. Kuronu tried to laugh. "I'll see you down at breakfast." He said as he walked away. Kuronu opened her door, dropped the cat in, and began to walk back down the hall.

The day passed rather quickly. Before anyone knew it, dinner had passed already. Everyone was hanging out in the living room. A warm fire now burned in the fire place.

"I can't wait til tomorrow. I love Christmas." Jaden said as he sat on a couch next to Kuronu.

"Yah, but we probably won't get our presents from our parents till we get back at the academy." Syrus told him.

"Oh yah…" Jaden remembered. He looked at Kuronu. "What do you think you'll get?"

"Me?" Kuronu asked, startled by the question. Syrus and Jaden nodded. "Probably like…an entire clothing store." She said. The two boys gapped at her. "It's true. My parents did that for us once a few years ago. They bought an entire clothing store for all of us, so it was like, our own giant closet." She explained.

"That's what I'm asking my parents for next year." Mindy said, having heard the conversation.

"I doubt they'll be able to buy it." Alexis told her. She then looked at Jaden. "Uh, Jaden," She said, slightly turning her gaze away. "I um, got this for you." She pulled out a small box from behind her back.

"But Christmas isn't until tomorrow." He said, looking at it."

"Well, Haru and Hiro started to give out some of their presents, and so did Kianna and Bastion, so…" Jaden smiled at took the present.

"Wow, thanks Lex." Kuronu and Syrus smiled evilly at each other. "Since we're giving out presents already, I better go get mine."

"Wait up." Kuronu and Syrus called as they ran after him. Mindy smiled at Alexis.

"What?" The blonde asked. Mindy giggled.

"I knew you liked him." She said. Alexis's entire face turned red.

"I…I do not! I just gave him a present, that's all."

"Your face says other wise." Haru and Hiro walked up to the two girls and each handed them a box.

"Merry Christmas eve." They both said as they went to other people." Mindy squealed as she opened her box. In both of them were diamond earrings and necklaces.

"I shall treasure this forever." She said as she held it to her heart. Jaden soon returned with a bunch of poorly wrapped gifts, followed by Syrus and Kuronu. Everyone pretty much gave everyone duel monsters and stuff from Yugi's shop.

Kuronu held the CD she had gotten for Zane. She looked around the room. "Hey Kuronu," Her brothers said casually. Kuronu screamed. She clutched her heart as she glared at them.

"YOU GUYS NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!!!" She sighed.

"…For saying hi?" Haru asked.

"No, you startled me." She explained.

"What's that?" Hiro asked curiously.

"It's nothing."

"It looks like a CD." Haru thought.

"I bet it is." Hiro agreed.

"Who's it for?" They both asked.

"No one, go away." Kuronu then saw Zane. He was standing by the fireplace, talking to Kianna. "Ok, as soon as she leaves," She muttered under her breath.

"As soon as who leaves?" She heard Marik ask. Kuronu's eyes became as big as dinner plates.

"I think your daughter." Haru replied. Marik raised an eyebrow. "See, she's talking with Zane."

"And Kuronu likes Zane." Hiro told him. "And wants to give him the present she got him."

"We think it's a CD." Haru whispered to the man. He smiled.

"Oooooooooh, ok, I got you."

"When'd you guys figure it out?!... I mean…why would you think I liked Zane?"

"Oh come, we're not stupid." Hiro told her.

"We knew it was him the whole time." Haru explained. Kuronu blinked. "It was fun messing with you." He said, noticing her confused look.

"I can get Kianna away from him if you want." Marik suggested. Kuronu blushed.

"What, no-"

"That'd really help." Haru said.

"Thanks man." Hiro told him, clasping him on the shoulder.

"No problem." He then walked to his daughter.

"No wait!-" Kuronu's face was bright red. I hate my life." She said as she began to walk away.

"And where do you think you're going?" Hiro asked her.

"To go in a corner and die somewhere." Her brothers put their arms around her and began to walk her to Zane.

"Oh no, you need to tell him how you feel." Haru told her.

"You mean tell him that I wish to die?"

"No…" Hiro said. "You need to tell him that you're madly in love with him."

"What? Wait-" But they were now standing in front of the blue haired obelisk.

"Hey Zane." The twins said. He raised an eyebrow. The twins were smiling weird…er, and Kuronu was standing there, her face completely red while she looked at the floor.

"Hey," He said. _This family is really weird…why did I hang out with those two in school? _He asked himself. They stood there for a moment, looking at each other.

"Well, bye Zane. They both said as they ran off, leaving Kuronu and Zane alone.

"Hey there…" She said.

"Hey…" An awkward silence wafted over them. "I got you something." He said to her.

"R- really?" He handed her a small box inside it was an Emerald jewled necklace on a gold chain. "Wow, it's so beautiful." She looked at the CD in her hand. "I uh…" She began. "What I mean is…" Zane raised an eyebrow. Kuronu closed her eyes and held the gift out in front of her. "Here," She said quietly. As soon as he took the package from her hands she ran out of the room and into the kitchen.

She leaned against the wall and sighed. "I hate my life." She muttered.

"Finally," Some one said. She looked up and saw Mallory sitting on the counter across from her, eating ice cream out of the carton. "You see life the way I see it." Kuronus' eyes were as big as dinner plates. Her sister had on long black pants with a long sleeved black shirt with a long red coat over it.

"What are you doing in here?" Kuronu asked her. Mallory got another spoonful of ice cream and stuck it in her mouth.

"Staying away from everyone else." She replied with her mouth full. She then spit the spoon out of her moth and dropping the carton to the floor. She cursed as she clutched her head. Kuronu stepped forward a pace, wonder what was wrong with her sister. "Stupid brain freeze," She muttered. Kuronu blinked.

"Brain freeze?" She asked. Her older sister looked at her. She flicked her hair behind her shoulders.

"Yes. Brain freeze. But of course you're not able to get it because, well, you don't have a brain." She said evilly. Kuronu gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

"Yah, well at least I'm not heartless." She retorted. Mallory raised an eyebrow.

"Tell, do you not 'hate your life' because of the feelings you feel for Zane?" Kuronu unclenched her fists as she listened to her sister's words. "You do not in fact hate your life, you simply hate the fact that you act even more like an idiot in front of him and you're always embarrassing yourself." She jumped off the counter. "I tell you this little sister," she then flicked the carton back into her hand with her foot. "Love sucks." Kuronu winced. "It makes you feel all happy and wonderful for a time, but then," She crushed the carton with her hand. "It breaks your heart." She placed the smashed carton on the counter and began to walk into the dinning room.

"Your really weird, messed up person, you know that Mal?" Kuronu said. Mallory turned her head to the side so she could look at her youngest sibling without turning her whole body.

"That's a broken heart will do to you. It twists your mind around and sends you on a one way trip to the depths of hell were you can stew in your misery for the rest of eternity." Kuronu flinched. Her sister then walked to the dinning room, banged on the wall where Kuronu had found the secret passage and climbed up the stairs.

"That was weird." A voice said behind her. Kuronu whirled around and saw Zane. He was holding the CD.

"Z- Zane…I didn't, um,"

"Are you ok?" He asked. "You just ran off."

"Oh…yah, I'm fine…how much of that conversation did you here?" She asked worriedly.

"Just that last part." He replied. "I guess she was talking about Attiucs." Kuronu shrugged.

"I guess." She held her left arm with her right. "So…you like your present?" Zane looked at the CD and smiled and nodded.

"Yah. I don't listen to much music, but they just kind of appeal to me. How'd you know liked them?"

"Oh, well, you know…" She scratched her arm nervously. "I called my brothers and asked them what you liked 'because I had NO idea of what to get you." She admitted. Zane chuckled. Kuronu then looked at the necklace that she held in her hand. "I just wish I could've gotten you something better than a CD. I mean, I'm filthy rich and that's all I got you." Zane placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I like what you got me not because it's big or expensive, but because it was from you." Kuronu's face turned beat red. Zane then realized what he said. "Like, not like THAT, just, um,"

"Yah, I get it. Not like THAT, but, like um,"

Haru and Hiro snickered as they watched the scene. "We are so good." Hiro whispered as he and his brother high fived each other.

"What are we doing?" Someone whispered to them. The twins screamed like little girls and fell over. Kuronu and Zane looked over at them, then at Mokuba who was standing in the doorway. "This is really bad timing, isn't it?" Kuronu glared at him, then at her brothers as she clenched her fists.

"WOULD YOU GUYS GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!!?" She yelled as the three ran away. "Idiots," She mumbled. She then looked up at Zane, who was staring at her weirdly. The girl blushed…again. "Anyways…" Zane smiled she smiled idiotically. He stepped forward so he was directly in front of her. He streamed his fingers through her long, brown hair.

"You guys are really something," He said quietly. The two stared into each others eyes for several moments. Kuronu's eyes widened as Zane suddenly began to lean forward.

_I think…he's gonna…_ She slowly began to close her eyes, but then her nose began to tickle. "Ah- choo!" Kuronu sneezed. Zane blinked. His face was covered in spit. Kuronu gasped as she covered her mouth, her eyes as big as dinner plates. "I…am SO sorry…" She apologized slowly.

Zane pulled a handkerchief out from his back pocket and whipped his face off. "That's…ok." He replied as he out the handkerchief back in his pocket. Syrus then ran into the kitchen.

"There you guys are. Come on, we're going to go upstairs, something about playing truth or dare." He told them. Zane raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Kuronu, who shrugged.

"Fine," He said as he walked past his little brother. Syrus turned to Kuronu to see if she was coming, but she was in the middle of banger her head on the refrigerator.

"Are you ok Kuronu?" The young Truesdale asked.

"No, no I am not ok." She replied, taking a break from her head banging. "I think Zane was going to…going to…"She then began to hit her head on the door again.

"Zane was going to what?" Syrus asked worriedly. Was he going to do something good or bad? "Um, well, everyone's kind of waiting for us upstairs so…maybe we should head up?" He suggested, putting his hand on the girls shoulder.

"Ok," She said as she walked next to him.

Syrus was still curious though. "What was my big bro going to do?" He whispered. Kuronu just shook her head.

"I don't know that he was going to do anything." She replied.

"But what did you THINK he was going to do?" Kuronu just shook her head again. "Come on, your killing me. I've got to know!" He hissed. This continued about the whole way upstairs, until they got into Kuronu's room. The lights were turned off. Only the fire in the fire place gave off light. Everyone was sitting in a circle on the floor.

"Hey guys took you long enough." Kianna said as she led them in, closing the door behind them.

"This is kind of…weird…" Kuronu commented.

"Just be glad I'm not making you wear turbans." She retorted. Kuronu blinked. She wanted to ask, but decided against it.

"If we're playing 'truth or dare' why are all the lights off?" Chazz asked skeptically.

"Because it's more fun to play in the dark." Kianna replied. "So yah, here are the rules," She began.

"There are rules?" Jaden asked.

"Yes, there are rules to every game." Kianna snapped. "Anyways, you can't say truth or dare twice in a row. If you answer truth then next turn you gotta say dare, got it." Everyone nodded. "Good. Also, you can't pick on one person. Meaning you can't ask one person every time it's your turn to ask. Another rule, no asking someone something perverted, and especially no daring someone to do anything perverted."

"I never knew that truth or dare could be so complicated." Bastion whispered to Jaden, whom he was sitting next too. Jaden nodded and smirked.

"I heard that." Kianna said as she glared at him. "So yah, I think that that's about it." She concluded. "Who wants to go first?" Mindy quickly raised her hand. "Ok, Mindy, you go first."

"Ok, Kuronu, Truth or dare?" Kuronu sighed.

_Why do I have to be first? _Dare." She replied without really thinking. She had played this game all the time with her siblings when they were younger, and they'd make her do all sorts of weird, retarded, and sometimes even just plain 'wrong' stuff. There was nothing Mindy could make her do that would be worse than any of those.

"I dare you…" She then had a brilliant idea. "Kiss Zane!" Zane blinked. Kuronu's whole face turned slightly red. The two looked at each other. Kuronu couldn't read Zane expression, but everyone could read hers. A picture of her kissing Zane in front of everyone came into her mind. "Um, are you ok?" Mindy asked as she waved her hand in front of Kuronu's face. She just stared ahead blankly.

"Kuronu," Jaden began. He poked her shoulder. Kuronu then fell over backwards, her face was still red.

"Jaden, look what you did!" Kianna shouted at him.

"I think she fainted…" Syrus said as he looked down at her.

"Well duh." Chazz said, also looking at her.

"Ok then…" Kianna muttered. "No daring anyone to kiss anyone." She then looked at Jaden. "Ok, Jaden, since you were sitting next to her, your turn." She said.

"Ok…Chazz, truth or dare?" He asked. Chazz sighed.

"Dare." He replied.

"I dare you to…go on top of the room and sing the hokey pokey!" Chazz's jaw dropped.

"No way! Never, I refuse!"

"If you don't do it, you have to do something worse." Kianna told him.

"That wasn't in the rules!"

"Chazz, that's just kind of a rule that everybody knows weather you say it's a rule or not." Alexis told him. He blinked.

"Fine! I'll go on the roof and sing the hokey pokey." He grumbled. "But I'm gonna need some help getting onto the roof."

XXXXXXXXX

Zane shut his eye as Bastion stepped on his head. "Could you guys hurry up?" He called. Sitting on Bastion's shoulders was Jaden. Followed by Syrus, and then at the very top was Chazz. Chumley and the girls, minus Kuronu who was still unconscious, watched them from inside the room.

"Would you stop swaying, I can't grab the roof if you keep going forwards and backwards." Chazz called down.

"Why do I have to be on the bottom?" Zane asked the evil pop star who had given direction on how to get Chazz up.

"Because you're the oldest, most likely the strongest, and by far the hottest." Zane slowly walked back towards the building.

"Almost got it," Chazz reached out to grab the roof. He grabbed the edge of the gutter right as Zane collapsed onto the ground, followed by everyone else. Chazz gulped as he looked down, his legs flailing beneath him.

"Sorry bro," Syrus apologized as he removed himself from his brother's being. Zane slowly sat up as he massaged his shoulders.

"Where's Chazz?" Jaden asked.

"A little help please!" Chazz called. Everyone looked up.

"Good job Chazz, now just climb onto the roof!" Kianna called up to him. Chazz gulped as he swung his body over. He slowly stood up. "Now start singing!" Syrus brought a video recorder. Chazz gritted his teeth.

"You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out," Chazz began.

"Can't hear you!" Kianna called up. "And do the motions!" Chazz growled as he began to sing louder.

XXXXXXXX

Seto sat up in bed and turned the light on. "What's wrong?" Meisha asked as she looked up at him. Seto motioned for her to be quiet. There, in a very faint voice, they could hear someone singing. Seto climber out of bed and walked out onto the balcony. He looked over. There, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way at the other end of the house someone on top of the roof singing the 'hokey pokey'.

"GO TO SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted. He then saw the figure fall off the roof.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, that was fun." Kianna said as the other girls giggled. Chazz lay on the cement balcony, staring at the sky.

"Ow…my back…" He said. Jaden and Syrus pulled him up and dragged him inside.

"Your turn Chazz." Jaden told him. Chazz smiled evilly.

"Fine…Kianna, truth or dare?" He asked the blonde pop star. She smirked.

"Dare," She replied.

"Ok then, I dare you to…" They then heard groaning from behind them. Kuronu sat up and rubbed her head.

"What happened?" She asked groggily.

"You fainted." Jaden replied.

"AGAIN. So if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of daring Kianna. Now where was I? Oh yes, Kianna, I dare you to…run around the ENTIRE grounds of Kaiba manor." Kuronu's jaw dropped.

"ARE YOU CRAZY??!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW BIG THE GROUNDS ARE???!!!"

"I have a basic idea." He replied. Kianna smirked.

"You're on. Any guidelines Kuronu?"

"Well, there's a gate that goes around the edge of our property, just run around that…even though it could take you until morning." Kianna stretched her arms.

"No problem. I'm the faster runner in my schools gym class. Be back in fifteen minuets." She told them as she jogged out of the room.

**Fifteen minuets later**

"And I used to wet the bed when I was younger, are done?!" Syrus shouted.

"Are those ALL of your darkest secrets?" Chazz asked.

"Yes! That's all of them!" Syrus yelled.

"You forgot to mention your teddy bear." Zane teased. Syrus glared at him. Kianna then ran back into the room.

"Well, that was a nice workout." She said as she sat back down. "What'd I miss?"

"Well, since you were gone we skipped you." Bastion began to explain. "So Chazz made Syrus tell everyone his most embarrassing secrets." Kianna looked at Zane.

"And you approved this?" She asked. Zane shrugged. He didn't exactly approve or disapprove of it; he just flat out didn't care. The girl whacked him over the head. "Shame on you." She said as she sat down. "Ok, my turn," There was then a knock on the door.

Kuronu stood up and opened the door. Emidiatly, two blurs flew past her. When turned around her brothers were sitting next to Zane. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked.

"We looooooooooooooove truth or dare!" Hiro sang.

"Loooooooooooooooove it." Haru agreed. Kuronu's eyebrow twitched. She pointed her finger out the door.

"Would you guys get out of here?" She told them.

"But Kuronu," Haru began.

"We looooo-"

"I know, you 'looooooooooooooooooove' it, but to bad, out." The two boys sniffed as they stood up. They glared at their sister.

"We will get revenge!! You here us?" Kuronu shut the door.

"Ok, go Kianna."

XXXXXXXXX

Haru looked at his twin. "You know what we must do." He said quietly, his face somber.

His brother nodded. "Then let us go and devise our plan.

XXXXXXXXX

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" The two begged on their knees in front of their older sister's door. Mallory raised her slender eyebrow. "We loooooooooooooooooove truth or dare!!" Haru told her.

"You have to help us!!!!" Hiro begged.

"…No." Mallory slammed her door shut.

"Oh come on!!!!!" Haru whined. "Fine, we'll go to the next plan."

XXXXXXXXX

"Come oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon." Hiro whined. Mokuba yawned.

"Come on guys, it's late, and you ALWAYS get us up soooooo early on Christmas, can't you give me just ONE good night's sleep?" Their uncle asked them. "If Kuronu doesn't want you to play, then too bad." With that he closed the door.

"Who's next?" Haru asked. Hiro brought a list.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Come ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon." Haru whined. Marik blinked sleepily.

"Maybe Seto wasn't over exaggerating about you guys." He said as he went back into his room and closed the door.

"Darn it." Hiro whispered. "That leaves just one more person."

XXXXXXXX

Seto opened his bedroom door, only to see the smiling faces of his two sons. "What do you want?" He asked groggily.

"Well, you see dad, Kuronu's in her room, having lots of fun with her friends." Haru began, giving his dad the 'sad puppy dog eyes' look.

"And we were lonely and wanted to join her-"

"Go to bed." Seto said as he began to turn around, but the twins grabbed him.

"Please father," Haru said in this weird pathetic attempt at a British accent type of tone.

"You're our only hope." Hiro pleaded. Seto blinked, completely unfazed by the puppy dog eyes.

"Yah," He said as he slammed the door shut. Haru and Hiro looked at each other.

"Drastic times call for drastic measures." Hiro said. Haru nodded.

"Let's do it."

"GO TO SLEEP!!!" Seto called from his room, but was completely ignored.

XXXXXXXXXX

"We need snacks." Chumley announced.

"Can we go to bed soon?" Syrus yawned.

"Yah, we probably should." Kuronu agreed.

"Yah, but Chumley's right." Kianna said. "We need snacks, and then we'll go to bed."

"But we're not aloud to go down stairs in the middle of the night." Kuronu told her.

"Why not?" Jaden asked.

"Because-" Suddenly, two men in ski masks burst trough the balcony doors. They pointed up two guns. The girls screamed.

"Let us play with you or die!" One of them shouted. Kuronu and Zane sweat dropped.

"You've got to be kidding me." Zane said. He and Kuronu walked over andpulled the masks off, revealing Haru and Hiro. Everyone, who had been running around screaming, stopped where they were.

"You guys are pathetic." Chazz told them.

"We just wanted to play." They said in perfect unison.

"You just wanted to embarrass me!" Kuronu accused as she pushed them out of the room.

"Oh, we don't need to do that." Haru said.

"Yah, you do that yourself just fine." Kuronu slammed the door shut.

"He has a point though," Chazz began. "You do do a pretty good job of embarrassing yourself, which is good, makes all of our jobs easier." Kuronu glared at him.

"Anyways," Alexis said quickly as she came between the two. "Why can't we go down stairs?" She asked.

"You see," Kuronu began. "About…five years ago I went down stairs for a snack in the middle of the night.

_FLASH BACK._

_Kuronu walked down the marble stair case, but dripped over her long pajama pants. She tumbled down to the floor and rolled until she hit the door._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Seto sat up in his bed. "What's wrong?" Meisha asked._

"_I heard something." He said._

"_Like what?"_

"_I don't know." Seto pulled open a table droor-(A/N: I know that's wrong, but have no idea how to spell the word and it wont come up on the stupid spell check! So deal with it.)- and pulled out a pistol. He then got of bed and opened the door. He turned around to tell Meisha to stay there, but she was behind him, also holding a pistol. "Fine," He muttered._

_XXXXXXXXXX_

_Mallory grabbed a black pistol from under hear bed and ran out her bedroom door, only to be greeted by her parents. "You heard it too?" She whispered. They nodded. A second later Haru and Hiro ran of their rooms, both holding large clubs._

"_Did you pull the legs off your tables again?" Meisha asked sternly. The boys looked at the 'clubs' then smiled suspiciously. _

"_No," They lied. _

"_Whatever, come on." Mallory said as she led the group down the hall._

_XXXXXXXXX_

_Kuronu opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of milk. Then she climbed up onto the counter and grabbed a glass. As she got down, she looked over and saw five shadowy figures. Before she could say anything, three bullets were fired and shot right passed her head. She began to cry. Seto turned on a light to see who was there._

"_Kuronu!!!!!" Meisha cried. "I shot a gun at my own daughter!!!" _

"_Darn, I missed." Mallory muttered. Seto glared at her. "Kidding." She said. Mokuba yawned as he entered the room._

"_What's going on?" He asked sleepily. He then picked up the carton of milk and drank out of it. Everyone stared at him. Seto grabbed the milk from him._

"_How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" _

"_Maybe a few more times." He replied as he took the milk back._

_END FLASH BACK_

"So yah, ever since then no one has been aloud to go down stairs during the middle of the night." Kuronu finished. Everyone stared at her weirdly.

"What do you think would've happened if they had shot you?" Jaden asked. A horrible image came into her mind.

_Meisha cried over her. "I KILLED MY OWN CHILD!!!" She wailed. Seto looked at the gun in his hand as it shook. He then lifted it to his head and shot himself. _

"_Cool." Mallory said as she shot her brothers and her mom. She then began to laugh manically._

"_What's going on?" Mokuba asked as he ran in. Mallory shot him too. She continued to laugh. Then the police ran in a shot her too._

"_I knew she was trouble." He said._

Kuronu shook her head. "That would be bad." She finally replied. Everyone was still looking at her weirdly.

"You and your whole family are weird." Chazz said.

"Hey, technically I'm part of her family." Kianna told him.

"I know." He replied. The two glared at each other.

"Ok, bed time then." Alexis said quickly. "G' night everyone." Everyone said goodnight and went to their own rooms. Kuronu changed into her pajamas and crawled under her warm covers. She quickly fell asleep as she though about the next day, then she looked at her clock, which read 12:01, and changed her though to how much fun she'd have later that day.

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Bwahaha, I FINALLY got to Christmas, and hey, it's sorta, not really almost really Christmas time. Ok, please review, no harsh flames, and I'll try to update soon. As a little thank you thing for all you awesome people who have read my story ever since I only had one chapter and who have waited most patiently through 29 others, and also to the newer people who had to suffer at their computer for hours reading through all now 30 of my ridiculously long chapters… crap, I lost my train of thought. Anyways, the point is, I drew some pics of my ocs, and as soon as my friend fire of the heart sees them and if she approves them, I shall put them on my profile. BUT she tells me they suck, then I wont, but I do put them up…they're still really bad. It'll only give you a VERY vague idea of what they look like. I see them all clearly in my head, but when I go to draw them…my hand just want move the way I want it too. So yah, little thing. If I don't post them…you all can congratulate yourselves for reading through 30 ridiculously long chapters filled with all sorts of typos and grammar mistakes, and then you can eat imaginary cookies! Oh yah, congratulate yourselves for reading through ridiculously long authoresses notes. Seriously, I need to stop with theses.


	31. Christmas time is here

Authoresses note: Woo- hoo!! New chapter. Ok, thanks guys so much for reviewing, I haven't gotten the pictures up because I scanned them to my computer, but then they wouldn't upload to photobucket, and now something weird happened, and yah, I'll try to get em up soon.

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Chapter 31: Christmas day.

Kuronu sat straight up in bed as a loud horn that played the song 'La Cucaracha' blared in her ears. Her brothers giggled as they ran out of the room. Kuronu stared ahead of her, her eyes wide open and her hair all over the place. She slowly turned her head and looked at the clock. 7:00 A.M it read. Kuronu's eye twitched. She gritted her teeth and pulled on her hair. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted. She heard the horn several more times.

"Christmas is supposed to be enjoyable," She muttered as she climbed out of bed. "It's supposed to be 'the best time of the year'." She put her bunny slippers on. "HOW CAN I ENJOY IT WHEN I GO TO BED AT TWELVE O'CLOCK AND GET UP AT SEVEN!!!????" Her brothers poked their heads around the door.

"Coe on Kuronu," Hiro said.

"Turn that frown," Haru began.

"Upside down!" Hiro finished. Kuronu glared at them with her tired eyes. "It's Christmas!!!!" They cried as they threw their arms in the air and did the weird hand thing that Steve from blues clues does when he's done singing the 'mail song'. Zane walked by and whacked them both over the head with a stick, knocking them out. He also looked tired. He had on dark blue flannel pajamas.

"Thank you," Kuronu sighed as she yawned. Zane gave her thumbs up as he walked back to his room.

"It's Christmas!" Syrus and Jaden cheered.

"Go back to bed!" Zane yelled.

"Awwwwwwwww," Jaden and Syrus whined.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!" Seto yelled.

"What's wrong!?" Mesiha was so started that she rolled off the bed.

"Haru and Hiro haven't woken us up, but I STILL woke up at seven o'clock!!!" He pointed to the clock in horror. 'And now I can't go back to sleep!" He folded his arms across his chest as he sat back against the head board. Meisha stood up and whacked him over the head.

"Well, you didn't have to wake me up!" She shouted. "Now I'm not tired either." She sat next to her husband in the same way, arms crossed across the chest as she sat against the head board.

**TWO HOURS LATER**

Kuronu yawned as she stretched her arms. "Man, that extra two hours of sleep really did the trick." She looked down at the floor where her brothers slept by her open door. They had curled up into balls and were sucking their thumbs. Their arms were wrapped around each other. "Ew," She cringed. She then saw a mass of brown hair appear from around the door frame.

"Jaden?" She asked. He poked his around.

"Can we get up now?" He asked in a little kidish way.

"Have you and Syrus been up this whole time?" She asked. He nodded quickly. Kuronu sighed. "You didn't have to wait for me."

"Oh we weren't," Jaden told her. "It was more like, waiting for you and everyone else. See, no one else is asleep…except your sister, she went down stairs about an hour ago, but we didn't want to be alone with her."

"Good plan." Kuronu muttered.

"So yah, can we wake everyone else up?" He asked.

"Fine, just don't blow that thing in my ear…or my parents' they'd kill you." She told him. Jaden punched the air with his fists. He then grabbed the horn and ran into someone else's room.

"Jaden, you loser!!!!" She heard Chazz scream as the horn played its song. Kuronu couldn't help but giggle. Her brothers immediately sat up and looked around.

"Hey!" Hiro shouted.

"That's OUR horn!" Haru said as he and his twin began to chase after Jaden for the horn back. Kuronu was now laughing hysterically. She rolled off the bed and banged her head on a table.

"Ow," She whined.

XXXXXXXXX

Mallory took a sip of her coffee as she heard thumping from upstairs, along with that ever so retarded horn- where did they get this stuff- and shouting, and screaming, and yelling, and laughing, and lots of people running around.

"Does this happen often here?" She looked up and Saw Marik, his thumb pointed behind him over his shoulder.

"Yup," She replied as she finished her coffee. "Happens every year, only there are less people so it's not quite as loud, though it still gives you a killer migraine." She put the mug in the sink and walked into the living room. She kicked part of the wall and a passage way opened up. Marik's jaw dropped as he watched her go into the wall.

"This house is weird." He muttered.

**2 MORE HOURS LATER**

Everyone had opened their presents. Meisha had gotten everyone really expensive designer sweaters. Red for Jaden, Syrus, and Kuronu, Yellow for Bastion, White for Chumley and Hiro, a different shade of light blue for Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine, Black for Chazz, Haru, and Mallory, and navy for Zane and Kianna. Kuronu also got a whole bunch of new clothes and shoes and pretty much everything else a teenage girl would want…which in her case isn't makeup and all that stuff because she's not into it…actually she got games and puzzles and electronic stuff.

"I wonder what my parents sent me." Jaden wondered as he, Syrus, and Alexis walked back to their rooms.

"Assuming that they even got you anything." Syrus teased him. Alexis giggled.

"Very funny, but they had to of sent me something. What did Zane used to do for Christmas? Did he come home or what?"

"Well, the first year he came home, but last year my parents sent him a whole bunch of stuff, so that's probably what they'll do this year." Syrus replied.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu had finally combed all the knots out of her hair. She tossed a giant hair ball that had collected on her brush into the trash can. She was wearing the red sweater she had gotten and pair of dark denim jeans. As she began to walk to the door, she noticed the bright emerald necklace sitting on her dresser.

She smiled at it as she picked it up.

"You coming down for breakfast?" Someone asked behind her. When she turned around she saw Zane leaning against the door frame.

"Yah," She replied as Zane walked over to her. "I just wanted to put on the necklace you gave me, it's very beautiful." She told him. He smirked. She put the chain around her neck and felt around for the latch. She mumbled some words, only to be unsuccessful in hooking the two ends of the necklace together.

"Here, let me help." Zane said as he reached over her shoulders and took the necklace. He parted her hair so it lay over her shoulders, and then latched the necklace together. Kuronu blushed as she pulled her hair back in place.

"Thanks," She said quietly. She touched her two index fingers together as she looked down at her feet. "Um, about…" She began. "About last night…" Zane raised an eyebrow. "When… we were alone in the kitchen," She continued.

"Yah, what about it?" He inquired. He also seemed a bit nervous about the subject.

"Well, I don't know, it just kind of seemed like, like,"

"Like what?" They heard Syrus ask. They both turned around and saw Syrus, Jaden, and Alexis, all looking very curious. Kuronu's face turned a dark red. She even swore that she saw Zane's cheeks turn slightly pink as well.

"Nothing, go away." Kuronu said quickly. "I'm going to go see when everyone else is coming." She quickly walked past everyone and down the hall. Syrus, Jaden, and Alexis smirked evilly at Zane.

"What?" He asked.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu walked into the kitchen. The only person there was her uncle. He was cooking something. "Hey uncle Mokie," She said. He turned around, startled. He licked something off of his fingers.

"Kuronu, it's just you." He sounded relieved.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Making brownies," He replied. Kuronu smiled.

"Sweet! You make the best brownies." She told him. He smiled weirdly.

"Thanks," Something on the counter then caught the girl's eye. She picked up a box, then glared at her uncle.

"Uncle!" she said. He nearly dropped the bowl of brownie mix. "You use a box mix?!" She exclaimed. "For fifteen years I thought that you had made these from scratch, but now I discovery that you've been using a box mix??!!!"

"Hey," He said, indicating for her to keep her voice down. "Your mother has thought that a lot longer than you have, if she finds out," He whistled. "I think I'm going to lose a foot." Kuronu raised an eyebrow.

"She's going to cut your foot off?" She inquired.

"No, she's going to hit my on the head so hard that I'll lose a foot, meaning foot as in height." He explained.

"Ooooooooooooooh." She said.

"Yah, oh, so don't tell her…or anyone else." He poured the mix into the pan.

"Hm, but what would keep me from telling such a secret?" She walked began to pace the room, smirking at her uncle. He sighed.

"I'll let you lick the bowl AND the spoon all by yourself, no brothers." He bargained. Kuronu though about this, she remembered all the times her brothers had stolen the chocolatey goodness that should have been hers.

_FLASH BACK_

_A five year old version of Kuronu lifted up a chocolate covered spoon and was about to take a lick, when her brothers came, grabbed the spoon, and licked the bowl clean. Kuronu blinked, it had all happened so fast._

_END FLASH BACK_

"Deal," She said as she shook her uncle's hand. He handed her the bowl and the spoon.

"Keep it secret, keep it safe," He whispered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Seto grumbled as he rubbed his wet hair with a towel. "Stupid Yugi, stupid wheeler, stupid people coming in MY house sitting on MY furniture, drinking MY drinks out of MY cups," Meisha came up behind him and massaged his shoulders.

"Would you get over this? They're only staying from three oc'clock to who knows what time." She told him.

"Whoop- de- do," He muttered as he walked back into his room. He tossed the towel onto his bed and walked into his closet, still muttering about how much he hated Yugi. Meisha rested her palm on her cheek and held her elbow with her other hand.

"You know, I think this rivalry thing has only gotten worse these past few years."

"Gee, you think?" Meisha looked over and saw Mokuba standing right next to her. She screamed.

"Mokuba, don't do that!"

"Do what?" He asked.

"Just come from out of no where and stand right next to me, then speak with me knowing your there."

"Oh…Sorry." Meisha rolled her eyes.

"Well, I have better things to do then listen to Seto whine." She said as she walked towards the door.

"Such as?" Mokuba began to ask. Meisha picked up a small pile of green leaves. "Mistletoe?" He asked. Meisah smirked.

"You of all people should know how fun it is to play match maker." She told him as she walked to her door.

"If you're insinuating how I hooked you and Seto up, that wasn't fun. It was at first, but then you got all angry at him, he got all angry at me, and then we were all sad and miserable."

"Yes, but it all worked out in the end." She reminded him. Mokuba shrugged.

Meisha walked downstairs. "Now where can I hang this?" She asked herself aloud. She looked at the frame that went into the living room. "Perfect," As Bastion walked by, she grabbed his shoulder.

"It wasn't me, it was Jaden," He said quickly. Meisha dangled the plant in front of his face. "Mistletoe?"

"Could you hang this up for me?" She asked him.

**4 HOURS LATER: 3:00 P.M; KURONU'S ROOM**

Jaden glared at Zane as he peered over four cards. Zane did the same. "You're going Jaden," He told him.

"The only person going down is you." Jaden retorted. Suddenly the door burst open. A girl with short brown hair stood in the doorway.

"Kaiba, I challenge you to a duel!" She announced. Everyone stared at her. Kyo came up behind her. His hands were in his pockets and he had a bored expression on his face. He whistled as he examined the room.

"So this is your room Kuronu," He stated as he looked around. "I'm surprised we didn't get lost in your hall ways." He commented.

"Hey Kyo, Sakura." Kuronu said. She suddenly remembered that Kyo and Sakura, or anyone else had never been to their house before. "I'm surprised you didn't get lost either."

Jaden and Zane were sitting on the floor Indian style. "Uh, can we finish our game now?" Jaden asked. "I was just about to whoop Truesdale."

"Think again. Slifer."

"What are you playing?" Sakura asked.

"Poker." The two replied. "And some really sweet rare cards are what we're playing for." Jaden told her. Sakura's jaw dropped as she stared at the cards.

"Anyways," Jaden continued. He laid down his cards. Four kings laid face up. "Beat that." Zane scratched his chin.

"Not bad Jaden," the obelisk said. Syrus sighed.

"You lost." He told his best friend.

"What do you mean I lost?" Jaden asked.

"You lost." He repeated. Zane laid down his cards, each one of the aces. "Told you." He said as Jaden stared at cards. Zane smiled triumphantly as he gathered up the cards.

"Oh man, I wanted those cards. Oh well, I'm gonna go see Yugi now!" He stood up and he, Syrus, and Chumley raced out the room.

"They just saw him a week ago," Alexis commented as she stared after them.

"So," Kianna began. "How well does this Yugi guy know my dad?" She asked.

"Pretty well," Sakura replied. "See, in battle city, this tournament of Kaiba's, Marik was this evil psycho path, and so my dad entered the tournament, totally kicked Kaiba and Marik's butt and won the tournament." Kuronu and Kianna glared at her.

"You're an evil psycho path." Kianna told the young girl. Sakura laughed manically.

XXXXXXXX

Joey clasped Marik on the shoulder. "It's great to see ya man,"

"Likewise," Marik replied.

"Hey Yugi!" Jaden exclaimed as he hopped down the stairs. "Wow, it's so awesome that I get to see you again."

"Yah Jaden," Yugi said, a giant sweat drop rolling down his head. "It's great to see you too…" Joey snickered.

"He's a Yugi fanatic." He explained to Marik. Kuronu and the others quickly ran down the steps. Alexis grabbed Jaden's ear and pulled him away.

"Calm down Jaden, you're going to spend the whole night with him, so give him some room to breath." She scolded.

"Ok, I get it. Please let go now." He pleaded. Alexis let go of his ear, dropping him to the ground. Everyone else sweat dropped.

"He needs to get his priorities straitened out." Syrus commented. Chumley nodded in agreement.

"Zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane!" Tishegie cried. She and Mayazakie ran over and both hugged him, followed by a kiss on each cheek.

"Hey girls," He replied. He was a few inches taller than both of them.

"We missed you last time." Maya told him. "Heard you were staying home with Kuronu." She cast him a smirk.

"Speaking of which," Tishegie turned to Kuronu. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." She replied truthfully. Maya glanced up the stair case and saw Haru and Hiro. She waved to them both, but her eyes were fixed on Haru.

After much talking they had dinner(you know like, dinner at three o'clock in the afternoon on special occasions dinner) which left Joey awestruck by the enormous amount of food. Afterwards, more talking. (What else are you supposed to do on Christmas?) Though Haru and Hiro were taking Mayazakie, Tishegie, Kiyo, and Sakura on a tour, all the other 'kids' had decided to follow just for the heck of it. Kuronu, having found herself being dragged into a long conversation with her mom and the other women, didn't get to follow, though was anxious to catch up.

"Geez, can they talk." She muttered as she began to run up the stairs.

"Kuronu, there you are," An old voice called her. "I was looking for you." She turned around to see Yugi's grandpa.

_How is he even still alive?_ Kuronu thought to herself as she walked back down. He was old. Very old.

"I have a present for you." He said. "I heard that you like to use the uh…the uh…oh, what were they called again?" He scratched his wrinkly chin. "Hm…I can't seem to remember their name." Kuronu sighed.

"Uh, maybe you could just give me my present and I'll figure out what you wanted to say." The young girl suggested.

"Hm…ok. Now let's see, where did I put that present?" He asked himself aloud. Kuronu fell over anime style.

XXXXXXXX

"This is Mallory's room." Hiro said to the group of people.

"Where is Mallory anyways?" Tishegie asked. "I haven't seen her this whole time.

"Probably in here or in the library." Haru answered.

"You have a library?" Kiyo asked, almost excited sounding.

"Yah but if Mal's in there, we can't go in." Hiro told him.

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Because she's kill us all, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Haru explained. Kiyo narrowed his eyes as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"This is such a drag." He muttered. Tishegie rolled her eyes.

XXXXXXXX

"I just remembered where I put it!" Solomon exclaimed. He pulled a card out of his bandana. Kuronu, who had been sitting on the steps, looked up. The old man looked at the card. "Oh yes, I understand that you like to use the red eyes." He told her. Kuronu sat up as he handed her the card. On it was a red eyes black chick.

"I have two, but I guess a third could be helpful." She told him. She smiled at him. "Thank you Mr. Moto." She bowed her head.

"Any time." He waved as he walked away. Kuronu smiled at the card. She then heard a small screeching type sound. She looked around.

"What was that?" She asked aloud. She looked back at the card. It winked at her. Kuronu's jaw dropped. She looked at the card closely. Its head moved as it let out a high pitched cry. Kuronu dropped the card and ran to the steps.

"Kuronu," Her dad said as he walked into the narthex. He looked at Kuronu and her strange expression, then at the card by his feet. He picked it up. "Kuronu," He began.

"The card is possessed!" She hissed. Seto raised an eyebrow. He looked at the card. Nothing happened.

"I think you're just tired." He told her as he handed it back.

"No, I'm not! I'm serious, it moved, it screeched!"

"Riiiiiiight." Seto said, amused. "You've been spending too much time with the Moto's." He told her. Kuronu bit her lip as her father walked away. She looked at the card again, though it was perfectly still.

"I know what I saw." She muttered as she ran up the steps. "Jaden will believe me."

XXXXXXXX

Mallory sat on a window seat in between book shelves. She looked out at gray back yard. There was a huge garden with fountains, but the flowers were dead and the fountain had been shut off for the winter. There was also a big pool, but that had been covered. She had on a blood red dress that flowed off the seat. Her back was against the wood of one of the book shelves, with her bare feet against the other side.

"_Merry Christmas Mallory!" _She heard a voice inside her head say.

_FLAS BACK_

_Atticus held out a wad of rapping paper. As Mallory touched it, it stuck to her hand. "What the heck is this?" She asked, trying to get it off with her other hand, but it was only stuck to both of them now._

"_It's a Christmas present." He replied. "Sorry it's wrapped so badly." _

"_Whatever," Mallory finally pulled the gluey paper off. Under it was a glistening silver heart shaped box. She looked at it from all angles. _

"_I made it myself." He said. Mallory continued to look at in amazement. _

"_You…made it?" She asked._

"_Yah, I started it a few years ago to give to Alexis, but I figured I'd give it to you." Mallory looked at him in shock._

"_But Atticus, your sister means everything to you. Why would you-"_

"_I guess I found someone equally as important." He told her. Mallory just stared at him. "Open it." He told her. The girl slowly began to open it. Inside was a shimmering gold necklace with diamonds on it. "This is your last year here, so I thought I should get you something special." _

"_Atticus," She said softly. "It's beautiful, they both are." The two stared at each other for a long moment. _

"_They're not the only things that are beautiful." He told her._

_END FLASHBACK_

Mallory jerked away from her thoughts as she heard people talking. "This is the library, but since Mallory didn't answer us when we knocked on her bedroom door, it's pretty safe to assume she's in here." She heard her brother say, though she couldn't tell which one it was.

"This is such a drag." She heard someone else say.

"Kiyo, stop saying that!" A woman lectured him. She hugged her knees to her chest and looked out the large window again.

"Come on, we shouldn't bother her." Her other brother said, it sounded like Hiro. Mallory let out a sigh.

"Losers," She muttered.

XXXXXXXX

"I wonder where Kuronu went." Jaden wondered.

"Maybe we should go find her." Kiyo suggested.

"But we haven't seen the rest of the house yet." Sakura whined. "And I know you want to see it too Kiyo." She winked at her older brother.

"Not really." He replied in a monotone voice. Sakura and Tishegie sighed.

"Kill joy." The both said in unison.

"I'll go see if she's in her room." Zane said as she began to walk a little faster.

"You like to go into Kuronu's room, don't you?" Alexis asked slyly. Zane stopped and looked at her. The blonde girl had a weird, unreadable smirk on her face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked her. Haru and Hiro chuckled.

"Yah, what is that supposed to mean?" Kiyo asked, glaring at the tall teen. Zane's cold eyes stared at Alexis, who kept her smug smirk. Without another word Zane turned around and continued to walk down the hall towards Kuronu's room.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Jaden asked. Alexis giggled as she walked away. "Fine, don't answer me." Jaden huffed.

"Same old Zane," Mayazakie commented. "Cool, quiet, and collected."

"And really hot." Sakura commented, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Zane's back.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu ran into her room, no one was there. "Man, where's Jaden?" As she ran out the door, she almost ran into Zane. "Z- Zane," She said awkwardly.

"There you are." He said. "We were wondering where you went."

"Oh…where's Jaden?" She asked.

"He's back down the hall." He replied, pointing his thumb behind him. He looked at the card in her hand. "What's that?" He inquired. Kuronu looked at the card, then at Zane.

"Yugi's grandpa gave it to me." She replied. She looked at it again, and then sighed. "This is going to sound REALLY weird but…" She looked at the card one last time, it still didn't move. "I think the card is alive." She finally said. Zane raised an eyebrow. "I know, you think I'm crazy, but I swear I saw the card move!" Zane stared at her, both eyebrows now raised. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Kuronu," He began awkwardly.

"I know, you think I'm nuts." She said. Zane didn't answer. Both his eyebrows were still raised. He slightly nodded.

"Well, actually I think you're tired, and sometimes when you're tired you think you see things that aren't really there." He told her. Kuronu sighed.

"That's what my dad said." She replied. She looked at the card again. "But I know I saw something." Zane put his arm around her and led her back down the hall.

"And maybe your still slightly hungry, you didn't eat much today." He told her.

"Oh please, how could I be-" A loud grumbling noise came from her stomach. She face turned bright red. "Ok, maybe I'm hungry." Zane chuckled as he led her down stairs. As they walked down stairs, they were surprised to see no one there, except Kuronu uncle. He was sitting in a chair by the fire place, reading a book.

"Hey uncle," Kuronu said. He looked up at her. A pair of rectangular glasses rested on his nose. "Where did everyone go?" She asked.

"They went to see the basement." He replied.

XXXXXXXXXX

"This TV is HUGE!!" Joey exclaimed as he stared at the huge screen. "Hey Kiaba, I'll trade you Kiyo for it?"

"What?!" Yugi exclaimed. "Joey, Kiyo isn't yours to trade…and what the hell kind of person would trade a human for a TV!?" Seto pondered this.

"Only if you take Haru and Hiro." He said.

"No way, those two are your problems." Joey replied.

"How can you guys even consider trading your children…" he looked at Joey. "And MY son for a TV!?" Yugi hollered.

"Ok guys, calm down." Marik tried, but to no avail. Meisha, Karma, Mai, and Tea stared at like they were idiots…which they all were.

"Men." They all said at the same time.

XXXXXXX

"Oh…" Kuronu replied. "Ok then." Mokuba stared at the two teens. Zane still had his arm around her. He then looked above them where the mistletoe hung.

"Well," He said, closing his book. "I guess I'll leave you two alone." He got up from his chair and walked past them towards the stair case. Kuronu and Zane were both confused.

"Hey Uncle," Kuronu began as her uncle walked up the steps. "If you see Jaden, tell him I'm looking for him." Her uncle nodding, indicating he would do so. "Well, that was weird." She commented, completely oblivious to the mistletoe hanging over her head.

Zane was also confused. Mokuba couldn't have meant anything by the simple arm, but he removed his arm from the girl anyways. He then glanced above him, where Kuronu's uncle had. Zane's jaw dropped. "Uh, Kuronu," He began.

"What?" Kuronu asked. She also looked up. "Hey isn't that…mistletoe?" her whole face turned bright red. She looked over at Zane. His face also seemed to be tinted pink. "Well," She said awkwardly. Her heart began to beat faster.

Zane scratched the back of his neck. He tried to avoid eye contact with her, but found that hard. Zane bite his lip as he began to lean forward.

XXXXXXXXX

Mokuba smiled at his cleverness. He wondered how long it would take them to figure out that mistletoe was above them. As he continued to walk, he found the group of 'kids'.

"This is another random room with no particular use." Haru explained.

"How many of those rooms do you have?" Kiyo asked, bored out of his mind.

"There you are Jaden," Mokuba said as he approached them. "Jaden, Kuronu's looking for you."

"Oh," Jaden replied. "Where is she?"

"Down stairs with Zane." He informed the young boy. He smirked at the thought of them. "They're right in front of the living room." He then walked past them, humming a strange tune.

"Your uncle's weird." Chazz told the twins.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Idiots," Meisha murmured as she, Karma, Mai, and Tea walked up the basement steps. The men were still arguing. "Some times I wish that I had followed my mother's advice and married that French snob." She sighed. "But then every time I remember that guy, I'm thankful that I met Seto."

"What was so bad about him?" Tea asked.

"He was UGLY." She explained. "I mean, really ugly."

"Was he nice though?" Karma inquired. "Because honestly, if I were you, I would've married that guy no matter how ugly he was as long as he was nice instead of Seto, the guy who will sell his TV to someone as long as the guy takes his kids."

"No Karma, he wasn't nice. He was…possibly meaner than Seto." The three women gasped. "I mean, Seto always had Mokuba to draw out his soft side so I could live with Seto anger problems, but this guy…he had money…and big house…but nothing to draw out his soft side. He was just mean and, bleh, I don't want to talk about this guy."

"When did you meat this guy?" Mai asked.

"When my family went to Paris for the summer." Meisha replied.

"Oh I remember that now." Tea said. "But you were dating Seto then.

"Yah, it was funny. I told him about that guy…I can't even remember his name, but Seto got all jealous and flew out to Paris just to tell the guy to keep away from me. Yup, that was the nicest thing Seto ever did for me." Meisha opened the door. As soon as she walked past the door frame, her eyes fell onto her daughter and Zane.

Mai, Karma, and Tea also stared. "Should we stop them?" Karma asked, unsure is Meisha was upset at this. "Meisha?" She whispered. A huge smile crossed Meisha's face as she shook her head.

XXXXXXXX

Zane was inches from her lips. He could feel the girl's warm breath on his face.

XXXXXXXX

Jaden briskly ran down the hall. He wondered why Kuronu wanted to see him. He jumped down the steps with out even noticing the two.

XXXXXXXX

Zane's brushed his lips against Kuronu's. Kuronu's heart was pounding. "Hey Kuronu," She heard a voice say. Her eyes jerked open as her heart skipped a beat. Her hair stood straight up as she fell over. Jaden blinked. Zane leaned against the door frame. He clutched his heart, which as also pounding faster than it normally should. Kuronu put her hand on Jaden's should for support. She slowly stood up, her eyes burning with furry. Her whole body was shaking. She glared at Jaden.

"Jaden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted. She whacked him across the face. "You idiot!!! Do you have ANY idea of what you interrupted?"

"Um, no?" Jaden tried to scoot away from her. Meisha walked over and slapped him across the face. Jaden, completely shocked, stared at her.

"Are you blind?!" She asked. "How could you not see what was happening?" The two continued to hit him for a while.

Syrus stared at the top of the stairs in amazement. He couldn't believe what he had seen. He slowly walked down towards his brother. He stared at him for a moment. "Zane," He began, still in shock. Zane looked down at him. "You were going to…" He began. His older brother only stared at him. "You wanted to…" Zane sighed a final time. He then got up and walked past his brother and up the stairs.

Kuronu paused from her anger for a moment to watch the blue haired boy walk up the stairs. "Kuronu," Jaden asked. She looked at him. "Uh, your uncle said you were looking for me?" He put his arms over his head just incase Kuronu or anyone else tried to slap him again.

"Oh yah," She had totally forgotten about it. Sudenly, Joey, Seto, Yugi, and Marik ran up the steps.

"I heard shouting, what's wrong?" Seto asked quickly.

"Nothing," Meisha replied. "Jaden's just an idiot, that's all." Seto blinked.

"Tell me something I don't know." Kuronu looked that the card Solomon Moto had given her, then shoved it in Jaden's face.

"Jaden, the card is alive!!!" Everyone in the room stared at her weirdly. "Don't look at me like that! It is!!! I saw it move and I heard it…squeak or whatever!!" Jaden took the card. As he looked at it, a little black dragon rose from it. Kuronu fell backwards.

"Oh hey, you have a duel spirit." Jaden explained to her. Kuronu only pointed at it, trying to find her voice, but was unable to. Joey looked around the room.

"What's she pointing at?" He asked.

"I told you! I told you!" Kuronu finally managed to shout at her father. Her parents, Mai, Joey, and Tea looked at her weirdly.

"What are you talking about?" Meisha asked worriedly. "What are both of you talking about?! There's nothing there!"

"I see it." Yugi announced. "Just as Jaden said, it's a duel spirit, but only certain people can see duel spirits." He explained.

"Man, how come I can never see these 'spirits'?" Joey sulked. Kuronu slowly stood up. She looked at the translucent dragon carefully.

"Hi," She said awkwardly. It squawked loudly. "Wow, it's kind of cute." She smiled at it.

"What's going on down here?" Chazz asked as he looked down from the top of the staircase. As soon as he saw the floating dragon, Ojama yellow came out. "What the heck is that thing?!" He screamed.

"Look boss," Ojama yellow said. "That Kaiba girl's got a duel spirit." The yellow creature pointed to the dragon. Chazz pulled on his hair.

"Oh no, not another one!!!" He pointed his finger at Ojama yellow "I hate you!!!" And then he pointed at the red eyes black chick. "I hate you too!! I hate you all!!!!!!!!" He then ran off down the hall. Kianna appeared by him as he ran off.

"Loser." She said as she walked down the stairs. "So, what we all doing?" She asked.

"I don't know anymore." Joey replied, still bewildered by the spirits.

XXXXXXX

Zane stared out his bedroom window. Thousands of different thoughts and feelings rushed through him. He heard the door open behind him. "Zane?" Alexis asked. "What are you doing?" He didn't answer. He could see her walking towards him through the reflection of the window. "Are you not feeling good?" She asked.

"I'm just…a bit confused I guess." He replied. Alexis cocked her head to the side.

"About what?" She asked, now also confused. She had known Zane for a while, but never once had seen him or even heard of him being confused about anything.

"Kuronu," He replied. Alexis blinked.

"Ok, now I'm really confused." She crossed her arms across her chest. "What's so confusing about Kuronu...besides her entire being…?" Zane chuckled.

"I'm not so much confused about her, more of…" He glanced over at the blonde haired girl.

"Of what?" Alexis pressed.

"Of…how I feel about her." Alexis took a step back.

"You mean…" She began.

"I don' know. It's confusing." Alexis smiled as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"You'll figure it out." She told him as she walked away.

XXXXXXXXX

"I've never realized how big your house was." Tishegie said as she, Hiro, Mayazakie, and Haru walked down the hall. She smiled at Hiro, who smiled back.

"We should probably go down stairs or something." Maya suggested. Haru nodded. "Even though I'd rather stay up here with you," She smiled at Haru, but remembered that she wasn't alone with him. "Guys." She added. "I'd rather stay up here with you guys." Hiro and Tia smirked at each other.

"Maybe we should give them some privacy?" Tia suggested. Hiro smirked.

"Maybe we could get a little privacy of our own." With that he grabbed her hand, opened a door and pulled her him. Haru and Maya blinked when they heard a door slam. They were surprised to see the other two gone. They smiled at each other.

Tia looked around the room. There was a large piano and a few chairs with white sheets over them. She looked at the piano, it was very dusty. Behind the piano was a large window that looked out into the back yard. She leaned against the window sill and looked out. "I remember one summer you brought me here." She said. "And you took me through a tour of your back yard." She gazed at the grounds. "It was so beautiful. Full of flowers and that cherry blossom tree was so gorgeous. Hiro smiled.

"Yah, you looked really pretty with cherry blossoms in your hair." He commented. Tia turned around and smiled at him. Hiro then pulled out a small box from his pocket. "I uh, I got you something." He walked towards her and handed her the box. "Sorry it's not wrapped, I can't wrap stuff." She smiled at him as she opened the velvet box.

Inside was a white gold bracelet with pink sapphires on it. "Hiro…" She whispered as she lifted it up out of the box. "It's so beautiful, thank you." Hiro blushed. She smiled at him.

"Why don't I put it on for you?" Hiro offered. The girl nodded, her purple eyes shimmering. Hiro took the bracelet from her and gently placed it around her right wrist, then latched it together. Tishegie admired the trinket fondly. She walked up to him and brushed his bangs out of his face. "Uh, w-what are you doing?" He asked, slightly blushing.

"You have really pretty eyes." She told him. Hiro gulped. "If memory serves me, we've, uh, never like," She glanced at the floor. "I mean," Hiro leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips.

"Never what?" He inquired. Tishegie smiled.

"Never mind." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

XXXXXXXX

Everyone was pretty much now in the living talking. Kuronu was sitting on a couch next to Syrus. She looked over and saw Jaden and Alexis, casually talking by the door frame. She smirked. _Now's my chance for pay back _She though to herself. The small black dragon appeared next to her and squawked. Kuronu got up and walked towards them.

"Kuronu?" Syrus asked when she moved. "What are you doing?" Kuronu walked behind Jaden.

"Hey Jaden," She replied, lightly tapping him on the back, though Jaden was startled and fell forward into Alexis. Kuronu gasped as the two's lips pressed up against each other. Syrus' jaw dropped like a rock.

He stood up and pointed at them. "Jaden and Alexis are kissing!!" Everyone stared at them. Chazz could feel his heart shatter into a million pieces.

Seto whacked his forehead. "Why? Why did I agree to let a bunch of teenagers live in my house?"

"No!!!" Kuronu cried. "Why couldn't that have happened with me and Zane?" Kuronu saw something blue out of the corner of her eye. She looked and saw Zane, both eyebrows raised.

"What happened?" He asked, tilting his head towards Jaden and Alexis. Kuronu shrugged. Alexis grabbed Jaden by the shoulders and pushed him away. The two stared at each other for a moment, both their faces were red.

"Hey," Jaden had to force himself to smile.

"Hi…" Alexis replied awkwardly. Jaden then fell over.

"We're telling Atticus, we're telling Atticus," Hiro sang.

"You kissed Jaden!" Haru exclaimed. Alexis covered her mouth and ran up stairs. Kianna burst out laughing. An awkward silence wafted over everyone else.

"I thought they were cute together." Mai commented. Tea, Meisha, and Karma nodded in agreement. Kuronu sighed.

"This has GOT to be the most awkward Christmas I've ever had." She murmured.

"Tell me about it." Kiyo said as he stood next to her sipping soda from a straw. "What were trying to do anyways?" He inquired, glancing up at her.

"Payback," The youngest Kaiba replied. Kiyo raised an eyebrow.

"For what?" He asked. Kuronu glanced over at Zane, only to immediately turn away, blushing. Kiyo figured she didn't want to talk about.

"Hey look, it's snowing!" Mindy suddenly exclaimed. Everyone looked out side and saw white flakes falling from the sky. All the kids pulled on shoes and coats and ran out side, except Jaden, who was unconscious, and Alexis who had gone to hide in her room and Mindy and Jasmine who had gone to comfort their friend.

Kuronu stuck out her tongue, trying to catch a snowflake on it, but to no avail. "How come snowflakes never fall on your tongue?" She asked Bastion.

"Probably because your tongue doesn't reach out past your forehead." He explained, though Kuronu was still slightly confused. Kuronu was about to ask how she could get the white flakes to land on her tongue, when something hard hit her back. She turned around and Saw Zane holding a snowball in his hand.

"Oh, you are going to get it," She muttered as she gathered up a pile and threw it at her crush. Zane easily dodged and threw his ball at her. Kuronu ducked, causing the ball to his Bastion square in the back of his head.

"You do realize that this means war, don't you?" He asked, gathering up his own snow ball.

"Wait, it was Zane, not me!" But Bastion kicked a whole bunch of snow in her face anyways.

"Snow ball fight!!!!!!!!" Hiro shouted. Everyone immediately gathered up snow balls and began to throw them at each other. Hiro hit Tishegie, Haru hit Mayazakie, Chazz hit Kianna, Sakura began to pummel snow balls at Syrus, and Kiyo fired at Zane along side Kuronu, while Bastion and Chumley just fired at random people.

Seto leaned against the door frame as he watched everyone through white balls of snow at each other. Meisha appeared beside him and put leaned against him as Seto put his arm around her. "Hey Kaiba," Joey began to ask. Seto turned to look at him. "I thought you had a second daughter." Seto stared at him blankly.

XXXXXXX

Mallory stared out her window as she sat on the window seat at the group of people throwing snowballs out side.

_FLASHBACK_

_Mallory trudged through two inch deep snow to the main building when something hit her back. She whirled around and saw Atticus, smiling at her._

"_Merry Christmas Mallory." He told her._

_END FLASHBACK_

She scanned the yard carefully. Alexis was not among the people in the fight. She scowled at the thought of the girl. "That girl," She whispered to herself. "Ever since I learned who she was, I haven't been able to stop thing about him." She clutched her head tightly. Memories came rushing back to her. She got up off the seat and walked over to her dresser where a large mirror hung behind it. She brushed her slender fingers across her bandaged side of her face.

_FLASHBACK_

_A man in a long white coat looked through some files in a folder. "You should probably keep your bandages on for at least two weeks, though longer might help it heel better." He said._

_END FLASHBACK_

Mallory reached behind her head and pulled at the bandages. She found the not and pulled it apart. Immediately, the bandages began to come undone and fall down her face. She grasped them and pulled them off. They fell to the floor as her fingers slid off them. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her left eye was pressed closed, revealing three lines going across her eye lid.

She slowly opened her eye. Everything seemed slightly blurry through it, but things gradually came into focus. She sighed; her vision was still in tact, though still slightly blurry.

_FLASHBACK_

"_When you take your bandages off, it might take a few weeks for your vision to fully return to normal, which is assuming you'll even be able to see out of it."_

_END FLASHBACK_

The scars began a little below her eyebrow and traveled down to a little bit below her eye. She sighed again. She could hear everyone outside laughing. She walked over to her balcony doors and pushed them open. She leaned against the rail. A giant tree blocked some of her view, though it was easy to see down due to the lack of leaves protruding the tree's limbs.

XXXXXXXXX

Haru dodged one of Maya's snowballs. As he did so he glanced up and saw his eldest sister leaning against the railing to her balcony. Her black, shoulder length hair billowed freely in the wind, her red gown blew against her legs, and both of her cold eyes stared down at him. He could faintly see three lines that were darker then her skin color slash across her left eye.

"Mallory," He whispered. He was taken out of his trance by a snowball smacking him right in the face. Maya laughed and ran over to him. She leaned down to make sure he was ok.

Mallory walked back into her room but left the doors open. Cold air blew into her room. She walked into her giant walk in closet and walked to the back. She reached up and pulled down a large brown box from a shelf. When she opened the box a silver heart shaped box glistened inside it. She tossed to the brown box aside as she lifted the silver heart into her hands. Inside it was a gold necklace with diamonds going along the length of the chain. She closed the box and held it to her chest as she fell back and leaned on the wall behind her.

She fingered the black chain with red roses going along its length that lay across her neck.

"_Your not alone Mallory," _Atticus' voice chimed in her head. _"People love you…I love you." _Mallory slid down the wall and sat on the dark carpet.

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Authoresses note: Yay!!! It's done!!! And lookie, it's been a whole year and one day since I first started this story. Ah, I remember that day…actually I don't. I more remember the day I wrote the second chapter because it was really cold and my fingers were freezing. Ok, happy early Christmas!!!!

I do not have the pictures that I promised up yet because I'm having problems with my scanner. We got a new one awhile ago and I'm not quite sure how to use it yet. Ok, please review, no harsh flames. Things should start moving along a bit faster now that I'm basically done with this part, and now I have a list thing that I'll try to follow, in fact I will follow no mater how long the chapters get. I know that long chapters get kind of annoying, but I guess I kinda should to long chapters because I don't get to update as much…ok, I'll try to update ASAP.


	32. Kuronu the slifer

Authoresses note: Yay, new chapter. Thanks guys for reviewing, you guys rock!

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Chapter 32: Kuronu the slifer.

Jaden shoved down an entire pancake down his throat and drank a whole glass of milk before even swallowing the pancake.

"Jaden, slow down!" Alexis told him.

"I can't help it Lex, I'm excited." The slifer exclaimed.

"Excited for what?" Seto asked as he entered the dinning room. "You are NOT going to see Yugi again, are you?"

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Jaden said as he stood up.

"No Jaden, there's probably not enough time." Alexis told him. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"Time for what?"

"They're going back to the academy today." Meisha explained.

"Really?!" Seto exclaimed.

"Gee Mr. Kaiba, don't have to sound so excited." Chazz mumbled.

"I mean, really?" Seto tried his best to sound disappointed, but he was to overcome with joy try to be upset.

"I can't wait to go back," Kuronu began. "Even if we do have to homework again." Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley sighed.

"I hate homework." Syrus complained.

"Oh yah, Kuronu," Seto began as he sat down at the end of the table. "Your not going back-"

"WHAT??!!!" The four slifers shouted. "Why? What did I do? What sort of cruel punishment is this?!!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"Can I finish my sentence?" Kuronu nodded. "You're not going back to the academy YET. Maxamillion Pegasus has invited us down to America for his annual new years ball…that he hasn't done in several years so you can't really call it annual, but whatever." Seto explained. "The point is, in a week we're going down to America for a new year's ball."

"Then why can't I just go back to the academy for a week, then go down to the US?" She inquired.

"Because that makes no sense at all. It's easier just to keep you here." Her mother explained. Kuronu folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair, sulking.

"But now I have to unpack my suit case." She grumbled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"At least you are coming back." Jaden said as they walked back to their rooms. "I mean, at first I thought he meant you weren't coming back at all."

"Yah, that's true," She agreed.

"And a week isn't that long." Syrus reassured her. As they walked closer to their rooms they saw Kianna, pulling a heavy suitcase out of her room.

"Stupid suitcase," She grumbled. "Why do you have to be so darn heavy?!" As she pulled it she tripped and fell backwards.

"Are you ok?" Mindy asked. The pop star nodded. "I take it your leaving today too, huh?" Again, she nodded.

"Yup. We're going back to Egypt for a few days, and then it's on to Paris for the next show."

"You must travel a lot, huh?" Jaden asked as he helped the girl to her feet.

"You just figured that out?" Kianna picked up her bag and began to drag it down the hall again.

"No, just…aw, never mind." Jaden sighed. "It's a shame that you don't come to the academy, that'd be really sweet!" He told her. Kianna turned and cast him a weird glance.

"The academy as in that weird duelist school?" She asked,

"Yah…only it's not weird." Jaden replied. Kianna flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Yah, uh, dueling isn't exactly my thing, ya know?"

"Wait, you don't like dueling?" Syrus exclaimed.

"Duh. I think it's like, a total waist of time to spend your whole life trying to be the best at a stupid card game." Everyone gasped. "I mean, like at your dad Kuronu, he hates this Yugi guy just because he beat him in a stupid duel, so now your dad holds this grudge against him just because of a stupid card game! It's ridiculous." Kuronu thought about this.

"It is kind of ridiculous…but that doesn't mean the game is!" Kianna rolled her eyes.

"What ever. Besides, this 'academy' sounds waaaaay to low class for someone of my status." And with that the pop star walked away.

"Wow, she really does remind me of you." Syrus said to Chazz.

"Shut up you slacker, she's nothing like me." Kuronu went into her room, unzipped her suitcase, and began to throw everything out.

"Stupid ball, stupid Pegasus," She pulled out a bright pink shirt with silver, glittery words on it. "Disgusting shirt!" She tossed into a trash can that sat next to her desk. She then pulled out her bright red slifer uniform. She sighed. "Man, I wish that I was going back today." She then heard a cry coming from one of the other rooms. She stood up, tossed her uniform on the floor and ran out of her room.

She listened and then determined that the cries were coming from Syrus' room. "Syrus are you-" She ran in the room and saw Syrus, Jaden, Chumley, and Bastion sitting on top of a suitcase.

"How come things never go back in the way they came?" Syrus asked aloud.

"Why do you have so many clothes?" Bastion exclaimed. Kuronu stared at them.

"Is this all that's wrong?" All the guys looked at her. "Geex guys, I though someone was in trouble.

"Uh, I think we are in trouble." Jaden told her. The suitcase flew open, sending the guys and all the contents of the bag flying everywhere. Kuronu looked at the mess.

"Maybe you should try folding your clothes." She offered.

"I don't know how to fold clothes, do you Jaden?" Syrus asked. Jaden shook his head.

"Nope, what about you Chumley?"

"Sorry," Chumley answered. "What about you Bastion?"

"As a matter of fact I do." He replied. "I just don't like to do it." Everyone fell over at this. Kuronu sighed.

"Are your clothes clean?" She asked. Syrus nodded.

"Yah, your mom washed them, and now they smell like lilacs." Syrus rubbed one of his shirts on his face, sniffing it.

"Ooooooooooooookkkkkkk," Kuronu's eye twitched. "That's really disturbing." She said as she began to gather up the clothes. "I'll fold your clothes for you."

"Thanks Kuronu." Syrus told her.

"Great, after your done with his, you can do mine." Jaden said. Kuronu glared at him. "Or I could Alexis to do it." A giant sweat drop rolled down his head.

XXXXXXX

Seto began to walk up the stairs when the phone rang. The home phone rang. He stared at it. "Meisha!" He hissed. "Meisha!!!" She walked into the room. "The phone is ringing."

"Then answer it." She told him.

"Are you crazy? Only one…two people call our home phone." Meisha raised an eyebrow. "Your parents." He hissed. Meisha shuttered.

"Hm, I see your point…well, answer it anyways." She told him.

"You answer it! I don't want to talk to them." Meisha shook her head as she walked back into the kitchen. "Fine, I'll answer the freakin phone!" He stared at the phone for several seconds, and then finally picked it up. "Hello?" He asked.

"Hello Mr. Kaiba," A deep mans voice said. Seto looked at the phone.

"Who the hell is this?" He asked.

"…Chancellor shepherd." The man replied.

"Oh…what do you want?" He asked.

"There are some things going on at the academy that I thought you should know about. I'm sure that Kuronu has already told you, but still." Seto raised an eyebrow. "She has told you about the Shadow riders, yes?"

Seto didn't answer immediately. "No," He finally said. "Was she supposed to?" The chancellor's face went pale.

_Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it. _He thought to himself, but it was too late now.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu put in the last shirt and sipped up the suitcase with no problem at all. Syrus stood there in shock. "There you go."

"What'd you know, folding them really does help." Syrus thought aloud. "Thanks again Kuronu." He said.

"Well, I should probably make sure Jaden's ok." She said. She exited Syrus' room and walked down the hall to Jaden's. Surprisingly enough, he had just finished closing his suitcase.

"Well, that was easy." He said as he sat down on it. He looked around the room. "Sure was interesting sleeping in a room this big." He said to himself.

"What's your house like?" Kuronu asked as she walked into the room.

"It's no where near is big or fancy as this house, or any other house for that matter, but it's a nice house." Jaden said. "I like to climb out my window onto a deck, then I can climb up onto the roof and I get to look up at all the stars." Kuronu sat down next to him.

"Sounds nice." She thought aloud.

"Yah…well, I should take my stuff downstairs." Jaden said as he stood up.

XXXXXXXX

Seto knocked on Kuronu's door. When there was no answer, he pushed it open. The tiny kittens jumped around his feet playfully, but he ignored them. His eyes fell onto the mess of clothes. "You didn't have to unpack," He commented. His eyes fell onto something red. As he walked over it became more visible. There was a red skirt with a dark red belt laying over it. Above it was a sleeveless black turtle neck, and lying on top of that was a bright red blazer. One of the slifer blazers, only it looked like a girl's, which was strange because there were no girls in slifer, or were there?

As Seto picked up the red blazer, Kuronu ran through the door. She stopped when she saw her father. "Hey dad…whatcha doin in here?" She asked awkwardly. Her eyes immediately fell onto the red blazer in her fathers hands.

"Kuronu, you have some explaining to do." He said. Kuronu cringed.

"Oh, muffins," She muttered.

XXXXXXXXX

"So when does your flight leave?" Meisha asked Marik.

"Ten A.M, so we should leave in about five minuets." He replied. He looked around the room that he had been staying in to make sure that he had all his things.

"You could've flown on one of Seto's jets if you wanted." She offered.

"Thanks, but everything's all arranged." He looked under the bed for things that might have fallen under. Once the room passed his inspection he stood up. "It was great seeing everyone again; I hope we can come back over before fifteen more years pass."

"Agreed," Meisha hugged the Egyptian. "So all your things are packed up and down stairs?"

"I believe so. Karma and Kianna should be waiting."

"Then let's not make them wait any longer."

Mokuba hugged Karma tightly. "I'm gonna miss you, Karm." He said. She smiled.

"As I shall miss you, but fret not, for we shall meet again." She told him.

"Ok, why are you talking weird?" Kianna asked as she stared at her mother weirdly.

"Because I can, I don't give that look." Mokuba chuckled. "Where's Seto? Does he hate me so much where he can't even say good bye?" Mokuba shrugged.

"The chancellor of the duel academy called a little bit ago, but I'm not sure where he went." Meisha said as she walked down the steps next to Marik.

"WHAT!!!!!!!!!????" They heard Seto holler.

"Well, now we know where he is." Karma commented as Meisha and Mokuba ran up the steps.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu cringed as she stared up at her father's furious face. "What do you mean you were a slifer?!" He shouted.

"Well, I guess I sorta failed the written exam." Kuronu explained.

"How could you fail that? It's frickin easy!" He shouted. "But that should've mattered! Why would they put you, the daughter of the owner of the school in slifer?" Meisha and Mokuba ran into the room.

"Seto, what's wrong?" Meisha asked.

"She's a slifer!" Seto yelled. Kuronu gazed down at the floor.

"How could she be a slifer?" Mokuba asked. "She's the daughter of you, the owner of the school, AND she's a girl, they don't put girls in slifer."

"Well, apparently they do." Seto muttered. "But that still doesn't explain why they would put a Kaiba in the school!"

"Well," Kuronu began. All eyes immediately turned to her. "No one knew that I was a Kaiba when I first came to the school." An awkward silence fell over them.

"Um," Marik said as he poked his head around the door frame. "I hate to interrupt this family meeting, but we need to go, so I thought that I'd just say goodbye,"

"Goodbye." Seto said coldly. Meisha hugged Marik one more time. Mokuba shook his hand.

"Karma says bye, Seto." Marik said. Seto didn't answer. His cold blue eyes were staring down at Kuronu. "Thanks for letting stay."

"Any time, Man." Mokuba said as he waved. He looked back at Seto, then at the door. "I'll escort you to the airport." He offered as he followed his cousin in law down to the front door.

"I'll go say gob bye one more time." Meisha said as she exited the room. She glanced over and saw Jaden and Syrus. She stared at them for a moment, and then walked down the hall.

"Is it just me, or did she seem kind of…creepy?" Syrus whispered to his best friend.

"Yah, I don't think you want to tangle with Mr. or Mrs. Kaiba today." Jaden said as he went back to his room.

Seto sat down on the bed next to Kuronu. "What do you mean no one knew you were a Kaiba?" He asked. He almost sounded hurt. Kuronu felt really bad now.

"When I first came, Crowler didn't know who I was; in fact no one except the Chancellor did…so I took the opportunity to…"

"Opporutunity?" Seto repeated. The guilt inside of Kuronu grew more and more as each agonizing second passed.

"I just wanted to be treated like a normal person!" She blurted out. "I knew that if they knew I was a Kaiba I'd get special treatment, and I just didn't want that. Like, Haru and Hiro said that they always got special treatment and that they never got in trouble by teachers because the teachers were afraid of you and…" She had run out of things to say.

"You need to go to obelisk." Her father told her.

"What? No, I like it at Slifer-"

"You can't stay there; it's no place for a girl. Where do you bathe?"

"In the girl's bath house." She replied.

"Well that's good."

"Yah, so can't I stay-"

"No. You can't stay there; besides, you're at obelisk dueling level. You failed that test because you got test anxiety, right?" She didn't answer. "You belong in obelisk." He repeated. He then sighed. "There's one more thing I need to talk to you about. Your not going to like it at all-"

"Then why would you have me do or not do whatever it is that you want t me to do or not do if I'm not going to like it?" She inquired.

"You can't always get what you want, and it's for your own safety."

"Body guards to follow me around 24/7?"

"That too," He replied. Kuronu raised an eyebrow. 'Too'? What the heck was that supposed to mean? "Chancellor Shepard called," He began. Kuronu felt a feeling of dread that she had never felt before come over her. "And he told me about the shadow riders," Kuronu swore that her heart had stopped beating for a second.

XXXXXXXX

Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz, Bastion, Mindy, Jasmine, Alexis, and Zane sat by the front door in awkward silence as Meisha sat on the steps, staring at them all, mostly Jaden though.

"Thanks so much for letting us all stay." Mindy finally said. Meisha seemed a bit startled.

"Oh, you're welcome." She replied. "I hope you all enjoyed yourselves."

"We did." Alexis told her. Jaden and Syrus had told them all about how Kuronu's biggest secret had been found out. Haru and Hiro came running down the steps and tackled Zane.

"Good bye my beloved." Haru told him.

"You mean OUR beloved." Hiro corrected.

"Would you guys get off of me?" Zane said, completely disgusted. The twins stood up, grabbed Zane's hands, and pulled him to his feet.

"Good bye younger brother of Zane." Hiro said to Syrus.

"Later Jay," Haru saluted Jaden.

"And so long everyone else!" They said in perfect unison.

"Tell your brother I said hi." Hiro said to Alexis, winking at her. She rolled her eyes.

"I thought you guys had gotten over this." She muttered.

"We could never get over you." Haru told her.

"Wow, they're so hot." Mindy commented.

"They are," Jasmine agreed. The twins winked at them and they melted as hearts flew out of their eyes.

Jaden smiled when he saw Kuronu walk down the steps. "Kuronu, I was afraid you weren't going to say good bye to us." He then noticed her expression, which was downcast. "What's wrong?" He asked. She stood in front of him for several moments, her eyes looking down at the floor.

"I'm not aloud to hang out with you anymore." She whispered so quietly that only Jaden could hear.

"What?! Why?" Jaden exclaimed.

"What did she say?" Syrus asked frantically.

"My says that because your involved with the whole shadow riders thing, that if they see me with you, they could try to hurt me." She explained.

"Oh, but after the shadow riders are gone?" The slifer asked. Kuronu narrowed her eyes.

"That's what I asked too…" She said quietly.

"What did he say?" Alexis asked, figuring out what the conversation was about.

"'If the shadow riders are ever gone.'" She answered. "Emphasis on 'if'." Jaden scowled.

"Don't Worry Kuronu, I'll get rid of those shadow riders, I promise." Kuronu smiled at him. She then pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Thank you Jaden, for everything." The slifer pushed her away and smiled at her.

"Well, I'll see you guys in a week." She said. Her eyes locked onto Zane. The two stared at each other for several moments.

"Well, you don't want to keep our ship captain waiting." Meisha said as she stood up. "It's been a pleasure meeting you all." As Jaden turned to leave she grabbed his shoulder.

"Keep an eye on Kuronu, ok?" She whispered. "Keep her safe." She stepped back as she waved at them as they picked up their luggage and went outside where a large limo waited. Kuronu waved as her mother put her arms around her.

"Your father just wants to make sure you stay safe." She whispered.

"I know," Kuronu said.

XXXXXXXX

Mallory leaned against the balcony as she watched the students leave. _About time they left. _She thought to herself. She stared at Alexis, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. "Watch over Atticus," She whispered.

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Authoresses note: YAH! Another update!!! I'm good. Well, please review and no harsh flames. Wow, shortest authoresses note in while, so lets try to keep it that way.


	33. A day in San Francisco

Authoresses note: YAH! Another update!!! Ok, thanks guys so much for your reviews for the last chapter, you guys rock, my scanner is still retarded…though maybe I should as my dad to fix it…Oh well.

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Chapter 33: A day in San Francisco

"We're on San Francisco!!!" Haru shouted as the rest of his family exited the airport.

"I can't believe it, we're here!!!!" Hiro chimed along with his twin. Kuronu rubbed her arms. She had a giant, brown velvet coat on with a fuzzy scarf and a matching hat.

"Remind me why this place is so great?" She asked, her teeth chattering. "It's FREEZING here!"

"No it's not," Mallory told her. She had on a long black coat with black half finger gloves. "You're just pathetic."

"That may be so, but I'm still cold!!!" Her mother came and pulled her into a hug.

"Anyways, to answer your question, dear beloved sister," Hiro began.

"THAT is what's so great about San Francisco." Haru finished. He pointed to a group of girls, laughing as they walked down the street. "And you think it's great not, wait till the summer when you get to go to all those awesome beaches."

"Yah lets just get to the hotel." Seto said as a giant limo pulled up.

XXXXXXXXX

"Wow, this place is so awesome." Haru commented as he walked around the room. They were at the top floor of the hotel. It was practically an apartment. There was a huge kitchen with huge living room that looked out into the city. There were also three bed rooms.

"I really don't see how this is better then our house." Mallory said, wiping dust off of a piano that was in the corner of the living room by the windows.

"It's not better," Hiro began.

"It's just new." Haru finished as he plopped down on the large purple sofa. Kuronu found the device that controlled the heating and turned it up as high as it would go. She then walked around, counting the doors.

"It looks like there are only three bedrooms." she counted.

"That's because there ARE only three bedrooms." Meisha said as she opened the refrigerator. "Hm, fridge is empty…guess we'll have to eat out."

"Yes! We're going to get to eat out in San Francisco!!" Hiro exclaimed. Everyone began talking about what they should do all at once.

"HOLD IT!!!!!!!!" Mallory screamed. Everyone looked at her. "There are only three bed rooms, yes?!" Everyone nodded. "And there's six people here, yes?!" Again, everyone nodded. "Well then how the hell are we all going to sleep?"

"That's easy." Haru began. "Obviously mom and dad will share a room. Then me and Hiro can share a room so that means," He suddenly realized the dilemma. "You and Kuronu can…share…" Kuronu looked nervously over at her older sister, Mallory glared at her.

"Well, this should be interesting." Seto mused.

"I'm going to find my own hotel." Mallory said.

"Good luck finding somewhere two days before New Years Eve." Seto told her. She stopped. She slowly turned around and glared at him.

"Fine, Kuronu can sleep on the couch then."

"Why do I have to sleep on the couch?" Kuronu inquired.

"'Cause you're the youngest."

"That's no excuse. You should sleep on the couch because you're the oldest!"

"Cha, fat chance pip squeak."

"I say we should make Haru and Hiro sleep on the couch!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"Hm, that's actually not a bad plan." Mallory thought about it.

"Hey, don't drag us into it!" Hiro shouted.

"Yah!" The four siblings stood there and argued about the room situation.

"Aw, sibling love." Meisha commented.

"ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!" Seto hollered. He pointed and Kuronu and Mallory. "Since you two won't share a room, I have a solution."

XXXXXXX

Mallory sat in her bed, her arms folded across her chest. She looked over ad glared at her brother. "It just figures that there's only one king sized bed in each room."

"No kidding." Haru agreed.

"You touch me and I swear you will surely die." His older sister said as she placed her black pistol on the night stand. Haru gulped.

XXXXXXX

"Hiro, stop taking all the blankets!" Kuronu screamed as she pulled the majority of the covers over to her. Hiro looked at her, shocked. He had absolutely no blankets over him.

"What do you mean I have all the blankets? I have none! I'm freezing!"

"Well how do you think I feel? I'm freezing waaaaaaay more than you are!"

"How are you cold? You turned up the heat in every room to as high as it could go!"

"I'm still cold." Hiro was utterly shocked.

"Cold blooded mammal." He mumbled.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Kuronu and Hiro yawned as they walked into the kitchen. "Have enough sleep?" Meisha asked.

"No." Hiro replied. "No we did not, because SOME ONE kept taking all the blankets!" He glared at Kuronu.

"It wasn't my fault, I was cold." She explained, her teeth still chattering.

"Really, Haru and I had no problems at all." Mallory said, smirking.

"Hiro, I'll trade with you." Haru said quickly.

"Great! Anyone is better then miss cold blooded mammal over there." Hiro exclaimed. Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"How can you be a cold blooded mammal?" Haru asked. Hiro shrugged.

"You just can."

"Anyways, when's uncle Mokuba coming?" Kuronu asked as her mother placed a cup of hot tea in front of her.

"He said his flight would get in sometime late tonight." Seto replied.

"I still don't get why he didn't just come with us." Kuronu wondered.

"Because he had some business in back in Japan to finish up."

"So what are we going to today?" Hiro asked excitedly.

"Tell us, tell us, tell us!" Haru exclaimed.

"Nothing." Seto replied. Haru, Hiro, and Kuronu's jaws dropped.

"B- but why?" The three asked.

"Because I don't feel like having to pay a million dollars for repairs on everything that you guys break!" He explained.

"Who said we'll break anything?" Kuronu asked.

"It's you three, it's what you do." He said. He then looked at Mallory. "And I don't feel like having to bail you out of jail again," Mallory snorted. Seto then looked at Meisha. "And I don't feel like having to take home ten thousand American souvenirs!"

"So…we're just going to stay inside today?" Kuronu asked.

"Yep." Her father replied.

**7 HOURS LATER**

"Moooooooooooooom," Kuronu whined. "I'm soooooooo bored!!!"

"You mean WE'RE so bored." The twins corrected in perfect unison.

"Get dad to let us go out!" Kuronu begged.

"He's made up his mind." Meisha told them. "And you know that once he makes up his mind,"

"His mind is made up and nothing will ever change it." The three finished. An idea just accrued to Haru.

"Except maybe the persuasion of a really hot lady." He winked at his mom.

"…That really scared me." She told him. "Never wink at me like that again."

"Yes mother."

"Though you might be on to something,"

XXXXXXXX

Meisha jumped onto the large queen sized bed. Seto was sitting on his side of it, typing away at his laptop. Meisha scooted closer and put her arms around his neck as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he typed quickly.

"Trying to catch up on work." He replied. Meisha sighed.

"I think we all liked it better when you had off." She commented. Seto ignored her. "Why can't we go out?" She asked.

"Because I don't want Haru and Hiro-"

"I know why they can't go out," She interrupted. "What I want to know is why WE can't go out." She said. "It's been so long since we've been able to just go out and have some alone time." She slowly batted her eyelashes. Seto sighed.

"Because if we go out, then there's nothing stopping out two sons from going out and reeking havoc upon the city." He explained.

"But if we out around five o'clock, Mokuba should be here shortly after, and he could watch them. Besides, Kuronu is responsible, she and Mallory will keep Haru and Hiro in line for a few minuets." Seto considered her reasoning.

"Fine," He finally agreed with a long sigh. A loud 'YES!' could be heard from outside the door. Seto glared at Meisha. "But I know they put you up to this." Meisha snickered.

**ONE HOUR LATER**

"You lied to us." Hiro said as he glared at his mother. "You said you'd get dad to let us go out."

"I never said anything about getting him to let you guys out." She told him. Hiro looked at his twin brother.

"You still lied to us." Haru told her. Meisha laughed. Seto came up behind her and put her coat on for her.

"Your uncle's flight will land soon, and he said he's call, so when he does, tell him to come over. Kuronu, I'm trusting you." Seto told her. Kuronu nodded. And with that, their parents exited the room.

"I can't believe it." Haru said.

"All that just to get babysat by our uncle." Hiro whined as he sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. Three seconds later, Seto's extra cell phone that he had left there rang. Kuronu quickly picked it up.

"Hello?" She said into the receiver. "Hi uncle," She said. "Huh? Oh…oh dear…why didn't you call earlier? Oooh…woops…I see. Uh-huh, uh-huh, ok, I'll see you then." Kuronu hung up the phone with an evil smirk on her face.

"What did he say?" Haru asked curiously.

"Uncle Mokuba's flight was delayed." She replied. The three Kiaba's smirked evilly.

XXXXXXXX

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Kuronu asked as she followed her three siblings down the snowy sidewalk.

"Because it's boring just sitting in that roasting hotel room." Haru told her. "Seriously, why did you have to go and turn the heat up? It's not that cold."

"Maybe for you it's not, but I'm freezing." Kuronu whined as her teeth chattered.

"You did turn it down, right?" Mallory asked. Kuronu stopped.

"What happens if I didn't?" She asked nervously. Mallory just shrugged and continued walking. "So…where are we going?" He stomach let out a loud growl. "Somewhere with food I hope."

"We go where ever we want to go!" Hiro exclaimed.

XXXXXXXX

The four siblings stood in front of a large bar.

"We're not really going to go in there, right?" Kuronu asked as she clutched onto her Haru's arm. As she said this, Mallory walked right through the door.

"I guess so." Hiro replied. There were several tables scattered around the room with people doing all sorts of things. When Mallory walked in, no one seemed to notice, but as soon as Kuronu, Haru, and Hiro stepped in, every single eye turned to them.

The three stood there awkwardly. "There with me." Mallory said, and everyone continued what they were doing.

"What just happened?" Kuronu asked.

"When you're intimidating, you get respect." The eldest explained. She sat down on one of the stools in front of the counter, as did the other three. "I'll have a large beer." She told the man. Her siblings stared at her.

"And what about you three?" The man asked. His breath reeked of smoke and beer.

"Uh…can I have milk?" Kuronu asked. Everyone looked at her. "My doctor says I need more calcium."

"Would you like some cookies with your milk?" The man asked sarcastically as everyone laughed.

"Yah thanks!" Kuronu replied. Everyone stared at her again.

"Is this girl for real?" One guy asked another.

XXXXXXX

Kuronu screamed as she and her siblings ran down the street with a bunch of people running after them.

"You just HAD to ask for milk and cookies, didn't you?!" Mallory shouted at her as her brothers dragged her down the street.

"Hey, I didn't ask for the cookies, they were offered to me!" Kuronu replied.

"Get them!" The bar tender shouted. "They didn't even pay!"

"You just HAD to go into a bar, didn't you?" Haru asked his older sister. Kuronu breathed heavily as she glanced back.

"Haru, Hiro, wait up!" She called. She tripped over a crack in the ground. As she slowly sat up, she looked behind her and saw the group of men getting closer. The girl closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. She was going to die. This was it, the end of her life. She would never see Jaden or Syrus or Zane again.

_Zane, _She thought to her self. She then felt someone grab her arms and pull her to her feet and dragged her away. As she fell back to the ground she heard fitting and a gun fire or two. Then all was silent. She felt someone put their hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you ok?" Someone asked. Kuronu opened her eyes. She was sitting in an ally. In front of her was a boy with silver hair and bright blue eyes. "You know you really shouldn't just sit there and wait to get trampled." He told her.

Kuronu turned around and saw the group of men, lying on the ground unconscious. "You did that?" She asked. "Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." He replied. "Why were those guys chasing you anyways?" Kuronu shrugged.

"I don't know something about ordering milk and cookies at a bar and not paying." She replied. The boy laughed.

"Well, I should get going. See you later." He said.

"Wait, what's your name?" But he had already run off. Kuronu sighed.

"Kuronu!" She heard her name being called. She turned around and saw her brothers running towards her. Behind them was Mallory, casually walking. "Kuronu, are you ok?" Haru asked. The girl nodded.

"Did you do all that?" Hiro asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. She shook her head no.

"Some guy saved me." She told them.

"What guy?" Mallory asked, eyeing the scene before her.

"I don't know. He ran off before I got his name." she explained.

"Whatever, let's just get out of this area and go somewhere more safe." Haru said as he glared at his older sister. She just shrugged as she turned around.

XXXXXXXXX

"Now this is somewhere we should go." Hiro said as they once again stood in front of a building. Bright lights shone from inside the building. Music could be heard and people could be seen dancing.

"How is this better than that bar?" Kuronu asked. "Maybe we should just go back to the hotel." Two girls with long, blonde hair walked into the building.

"Are you crazy?" Haru exclaimed as he and his twin ran in. Mallory shrugged as she followed. Kuronu sighed.

"Wait until Mayazakie and Tishegie hear about this." She muttered as she also went it. The center of the floor was wooden, while the rest of the floor, where all the tables were, was a dark purple carpet with orange polka dots. Mallory was standing by the entrance, her arms crossed as she scanned the room.

"This is the ugliest carpet I have ever seen." She commented. Kuronu saw her brothers talking to the two girls on the dance floor. They then began to dance. "Come on twerp, let's find a table, and then get some food." Mallory said as she pushed her way through the crowd of people that stood along the edge of the carpet.

"Wait up!" Kuronu called as she tried her best to follow. She soon saw her older sister sitting at a table. A man in a black suit with an apron was standing by he table with a note book.

"Twerp, get over here and tell the man what you want." Mallory called as girl walked over. "And no milk this time."

"Um, I'll have Pepsi." She said. "And pizza?" She smiled weirdly. The man jot down her order.

"Your food will be out momentarily." He said with a thick French accent. Kuronu sat down next to her sister. It was one of the most awkward ten minuets of her life. The man came back soon after. He placed Kuronu's food in front of her.

"Didn't you order anything?" She asked. Mallory just looked at her, then back at the crowd. "Ok then." Several awkward minuets passed. "We should probably go back soon." As Kuronu said this, a slow song began to play.

Mallory just shrugged. She hadn't said anything since before the waiter had gone to get her food. Kuronu saw a long shadow stand over the table. She looked up and saw a man. He appeared to be in his early twenties. He had dark brown hair and bright green eyes, which stared down at Mallory.

"Excuse me miss," he began. He had a slight Spanish accent. "I was wondering if I could be so fortunate as to be able to dance with you." Mallory raised an eyebrow.

"And you are…?"

"My apologies miss, my names is Fernando." He replied. Kuronu rolled her eyes.

_Man, she's gonna punch this guy so hard; his skull will be cracked open. _

"Fine," Mallory said as the man took her hand and led her out to the floor. Kuronu's jaw dropped.

"Wait, Who was…what just…where did…when did…how come…I'm confused!!" The girl cried.

As Haru and Hiro danced they also noticed their sister, dancing with some strange guy. They stared at them for a moment. "Can you ladies excuse us for a moment?" Haru said as the twins ran over to their sister. "Why is-"

"Don't ask," Kuronu interrupted. "Because I don't have an answer."

Fernando twirled Mallory around and gracefully brought them into a waltz. (If that makes any sense at all.) "You are a beautiful dance." He told her. She didn't respond. "And you are also a very beautiful woman." For the first time Mallory looked directly into his eyes.

"Thank you," She said quietly.

Kuronu, Haru, and Hiro sat at the table, staring as their sister danced. "Who would've thought that Mallory could dance?" Hiro commented. Just then, Kuronu's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked.

"About time," She heard her father say. "Why didn't you answer my other cell phone?" He asked.

"Oh, hey dad," he said nervously. Her brothers stared at her. "Um, it died." She lied. "Where are you?"

"We're on our way back to the hotel." He replied. "We'll be there in about five minuets." Kuronu gasped.

"Five minuets…right…"

"Where's Mokuba?" He asked.

"Uh, um, in the shower." She whacked her forehead. _Idiot! What if he's not there by the time mom and dad gets there? _Ok then, see you in a few minuets." She closed her phone and stared nervously at her brothers. "Time to go!" they quickly got up and ran to the door.

"Wait, Mallory! We can't leave without her!" Hiro exclaimed. The three looked back at their sister.

"She appears to be enjoying herself." Kuronu commented. Her brothers nodded. "We could say that-"

"Nah, it wouldn't work." Haru told her before she could even finish. "Hey Mal," He called.

Mallory turned around. Haru and Hiro pointed to the door, indicating they had to go. She sighed. "I have to go." She said. She turned to leave but Fernando grabbed her hand.

"When will I see you again?" He asked. Mallory's eyes fell.

"You won't." She told him. "My family and I live in Japan, the day after tomorrow we go home." She explained. The young man took in everything she had said.

"Then perhaps I may have your phone number?" He suggested. Mallory shook her head no. "Long distance is not a problem for me." He continued, but Mallory still said no. "Your address?"

"I'm sorry Fernando, but this is the last time we shall speak." The man sighed.

"I understand then. I am just grateful that I was able to meet such a wonderful woman such as your self." He took her hand and lightly kissed it. "Adiós señora joven Hermosa." He whispered. Mallory turned around and walked over to her family.

"So, who was-" Hiro began as his eldest sister walked past him.

"What's the emergency?" She asked coldly.

"Uh, mom and dad will be back soon." Kuronu explained. They walked home in complete silence. As they neared the hotel, several fire trucks and police cars zoomed by.

"Hm, I wonder what's wrong." Hiro wondered aloud. As they turned the corner to where the hotel was, they saw many fire trucks parked outside with people gathered all around. Smoke slowly rose from the building.

"Well, I think it's safe to assume that you weren't just hanging around watching TV." A voice said behind them. Mallory casual glanced behind her as her three siblings slowly turned around. There in front of them were their parents, scowling down at them.

"Hey," Hiro said, waving awkwardly.

"How was your dinner?" Haru asked, trying to sound innocent. Seto pointed his finger at them and opened his mouth to yell, when a fire man came over.

"You're Seto Kiaba?" He asked. Seto nodded. "Right, well, after some investigation, we learned that the fire started on your floor in your room." Seto glared at the twins. "The heat was turned up and multiple heating devises were turned on in the rooms you had." The glare turned to shock as the whole family looked down at Kuronu.

"Kuronu set the hotel on fire?" Haru exclaimed.

"For once it wasn't us!" Hiro cried.

"Who," Mallory said in a monotone voice. "This day just keeps getting weirder." Kuronu gulped.

"Kuronu," Seto began in a dazed voice. "Set the hotel on fire…"

"You'll have to pay for all the damages sir." The man said. Seto pulled out his check book and jot down a random number with lots of zeros. The fire man raised his eyebrows at the number. "Yes, well, that will most defiantly suffice." He looked back at the family, tipped his hat and walked away.

"I set the hotel on fire." Kuronu said in a dazed tone as her eyes rolled back and her body limply fell over.

"Great, now we have to find a new hotel AND buy new clothes." Seto whined.

"Good luck finding somewhere the day before new years eve." Mallory said as she smirked at her father.

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Authoresses note: Yay, anther chapter. I think I know one reason why it takes so long for me to type: about two weeks ago a friend pointed out that I only type with my index fingers…I've been writing a story for a whole year now and I just realized this fact two weeks ago. Well, any who, please review, no harsh flames. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


	34. the New Year's party

Authoress note: Ok, I WAS scanning all the pictures I have been promising, in fact I HAD scanned them all, but then I discovered that they hadn't been saved… (Why can't this scanner be as easy as our last one?) So then I went to re- scan them…but something went horribly wrong. Something about an application being open, so I went to my computer setting (which I needed to do anyways to I could type) and it was all working…but then it all froze up and got out of everything and now that stupid application thing came up and NOW this stupid thing came up saying that five e-mails have been sent, meaning that some looser has like, hacked into our e-mail or something I dunno so my dad will have to shut off our internet again!! So yah…thanks so much reviewing for the last chapter, they make me happy…a lot happier than I am now that's for sure.

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Chapter 34: The New Year's party

Kuronu stepped out of the large stretch limo only to gaze upon an enormous building with lots of people going inside. The rest of her family was standing outside, waiting for her.

"Come on Kuronu," Haru called. Kuronu ran over to where her family was. Her brothers, uncle, and father all had on fancy suits. Mallory, her mom, and herself all had dresses no, though they were concealed by fancy winter coats. As they neared the doors a man opened them, another man was waiting inside to take their coats.

Kuronu began to pull off her coat, but was distracted by everything going on. Many people, perhaps hundreds, were standing in various places of the room talking, all wearing extremely fancy clothing. A long table was by one of the walls with food and a giant punch bowl. Seto yanked her coat off and handed it to the man and pushed her along.

"Kuronu, focus," He told her. She snapped out of her daze as a tall man with long silver hair approached them.

"Greetings Kaiba family," He announced, spreading his arms out. He had on a red suit. "Welcome to my party, I'm so glad you could make it." He shook Seto's hand earnestly.

"Hello Pegasus." Seto greeted, less then thrilled to see the strange man. Pegasus then kissed Meisha's hand.

"You look simply beautiful this evening, Meisha."

"Thank you. It's erm, wonderful to see you again." She replied. He then greeted Mokuba.

_Who is this guy? _Kuronu wondered to herself. Pegasus then went to Mallory. He stoped and stared at her.

"Mallory?" He asked. She glanced at him. "You look…extremely different since the last I saw you. But alas, you were but nine years old then." He then went to the twins. "Haru and Hiro. What fine men you have become. Now let me guess, you're Haru," He said pointing to the spiky haired one. "And you're Hiro." He said to the other. The twins looked at each other.

"He's good." Haru whispered to his twin.

"Very good." Hiro agreed. The silver haired man laughed. He then stepped over to gaze upon Kuronu.

"And you must be Kuronu. My, how you have grown, last I saw you; you were only four years old." Kuronu blinked. Well that explained why she didn't remember him. She was only four years old the last she had seen him, and who knew if she even HAD met him.

"Hi," Was all she could say. The man laughed.

"Oh, if you'll excuse me," He said. "There's Yugi- boy." They all turned around and saw The Moto's walking in. Seto groaned. "Oh Yugi- boy!" He called as he walked over.

Hiro smiled when he saw Tishegie. She had on a long blue dress bell sleeves. The dress had silver lines going around it. Her hair was pulled back into a bun. Her purple eyes shimmered brightly in the light. He then noticed the white gold bracelet with pink sapphires on her wrist.

"Hey, I didn't know they were coming." Kuronu commented as she waved at Kiyo, who waved back between weird glances at the old man.

"Yes, the Wheelers are coming too." Seto said, sounding even more disappointed. Haru smiled at this.

Without a word Mallory walked away. She had on a long, sleeveless black dress with a red cape type thingy hanging from the back. (A/N: It's not a cape…if I ever figure out my scanner you'll get to see). She had long black half finger gloves on that went to her elbows, and the black chained necklace with the roses on it hung from her neck.

Kuronu sighed as she watched her leave. She had almost seemed happy the previous night when dancing with that guy. Since then she had been relatively quiet, only speaking when it was absolutely necessary. She then heard a loud 'eh-hem' from behind her. She turned around and saw Kiyo.

He had a black suit- not quite as fancy as her families- with a light blue shirt and a yellow tie. "Hi," He said. "You look erm, really nice." His face turned slightly red.

"Thank you, so do you." She replied. Kuronu had on a light red spaghetti strap dress with a dark red sash. (A/N: Again, if I figure out my scanner, you'll get to see it) Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and then clipped up onto the back of her head with a clip.

"So…" Kiyo began, rocking back and forth. "That Pegasus guy is really weird." Kuronu nodded.

"Yah, what's up with the 'Yugi- boy' thing?" She asked. Kiyo shrugged.

"Joey- boy!" They heard him exclaim. An anime sweat drop rolled down each of their heads.

Tishegie walked over to Hiro, who facing the other way and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and a huge smile went across his face when he saw her. "Hey," She said, her eyes sparkling.

"Hey," He replied. Haru rolled his eyes.

"Great vocabulary you got there." He commented. He then saw Mayazakie. "Well if you'll excuse me." He said as he walked over to her. Maya had on a purple satin spaghetti strap dress that went down to about her knees. Her long blonde hair lay across her shoulders.

Seto glared at Hiro and Tishegie, then at Haru and Maya. He felt someone's hand rest upon his shoulder. "Get over it." Meisha said as she stood next to him. She had on a long, white sleeveless dress with silver earrings that had blue jewels in them.

"I can't get over," He protested. "I do not like those girls-"

"Because they're the daughter's of Yugi Moto and Joey Wheeler." She interrupted. She then glared at him. "Get over it." She told him again as she walked off. Seto sighed.

Kiyo continued to walk back and forth. He looked at his watch. It was Nine o'clock, only three more hours. "So…your friends went back to duel academy?" Kuronu nodded. She seemed a bit poignant now.

"Yah," She replied. Kiyo gulped.

_Should I ask her about it? Or should I not press the matter? Man, I'm a horrible conversation starter. _He chewed on his tongue. "Is…is something wrong?" He asked nervously. What if something bad had happened and she broke down in tears, or perhaps she would get angry at for asking it and never want to speak to him again?

"It's nothing," She said, smiling weakly. Kiyo sighed. "It's just," She began. The relief that had washed over the young Moto immediately went away. "See," She sighed. "When I first went to the academy, nobody knew I was a Kaiba, so I gave myself a different name and I was put in slifer," She began, speaking very quickly. Kiyo tried his best to catch every word, but she was a very fast speaker. In a few seconds she was already half way done her story.

"But then they all found out, but it was ok, so I took them to my house for Christmas and everything was fine, but then the last day my dad found my uniform and so now he knows that I was a slifer, but he said that I had to go to obelisk, but I don't want to go to obelisk, and before that the chancellor had called and told my dad about the shadow riders, these evil people who want to take over the world, so my friends were giving these keys and they have to duel the shadow riders to stop them, so anyways, my dad now knows about that and said that I can't hang out with the people who have keys until the shadow riders are gone, but that's if the shadow riders are ever gone, IF, but if they win then they'll take over the world so yah…" She took in a few deep breathes. "So I can't hang out with Jaden, or Chazz, or Alexis." She finished. Kiyo blinked.

"Wow." Was all he could he say. "You were a slifer?" He asked. Kuronu nodded, still out of breath. 'So you can't hang out with Jaden or any of the people with keys?" Kuronu nodded. "Does Zane have a key?" She shook her head.

"Well," She began. "He did, but he lost to a shadow rider." She suddenly remembered that horrible night.

"What happens if you lose?" Kiyo asked.

"They get your key and your soul." She explained. Kiyo looked shocked. "But after he and Crowler, our teacher, lost, Jaden dueled her, Camula, the shadow rider and so Zane and Crowler got their souls back."

"So you can still hang out with Zane?" He asked. Kuronu nodded. That was the good thing about him loosing to Camula, if he hadn't, she's not be able to be with him either. Kiyo sighed, slightly disappointed. Syrus had told them about the mistletoe thing. She obviously liked this Zane guy, and he was getting that feeling that Zane liked Kuronu.

"Uh, want some punch?" The Moto asked. Kuronu nodded. "Ok then," He went off to the food table. Kuronu looked around the room. Her mom was talking with Tea and Mai, Hiro was with Tia, Haru with Maya, her dad was standing by Yugi, Joey, and Pegasus, though obviously wanted to get far, far away from them. She then saw a boy with silver hair wearing a silver suit. He had big blue eyes. The boy then looked over at her; the two stared at each other for a moment.

"Kaiba!" Kuronu suddenly heard someone shout. She looked down and saw Sakura. She had a light blue spaghetti strap dress on. She pointed up at the Kaiba. "I challenge you to a duel!" A giant sweat dropped rolled down Kuronu's head.

"Not here Sakura,"

"But after this you go back to the academy, and then I wont get to duel you for a while!" Kuronu sighed.

"But I don't have my deck or a duel disk or anything." She explained. Sakura glared at her. "How about I duel you during summer vacation?" She suggested.

"But that's months away!"

"Patience is a virtue." Kuronu told her. "Now go find yourself a boyfriend or something." Sakura raised an eyebrow. She shrugged and walked away. Kuronu sighed; she then heard another 'eh-hem' from behind her. She turned around expecting to see Kiyo, but it was the silver haired boy. "Hey, your that guy who-" He then took her hand and kissed it.

Kiyo took both cups in his hands; he then began to walk back to where Kuronu was. _If she likes that Zane guy, and like her, then I have absolutely no chance at all_. He sighed. He looked up and saw a silver haired boy with blue eyes standing by Kuronu. The boy took Kuronu's hand and kissed. Kiyo gasped as he dropped both cups. _Ok, I can handle Zane…I guess, but he's never actually shown and REAL affection for Kuronu, but this guy,_

He clenched his hands into fists. "Who is that guy?" He asked aloud.

Kuronu's face turned bright red. "Aster Phoenix." He said. "I believe we met last evening?"

"So- so it was you." Kuronu managed to say. "Hi, I'm Kuronu Kaiba, uh, thanks so much for saving me." Aster flicked his long silver hair behind his shoulder.

"All in a days work." He said haughtily. Kiyo appeared beside Kuronu, glaring fiercely at Aster.

"Oh, hey Kiyo." Kuronu said nervously.

"Who is this guy?" He asked. His voice sounded slightly demonic.

"Uh," Kuronu began, now really freaked out. "This is uh, what did you say your name was?" Aster whacked his forehead.

"Geez, I'm Aster Phoenix, I'm the pro leagues for Pete sake!" He shouted. Kiyo took a step towards Aster. There was something about this gut that REALLY ticked him off.

"Yah, um Aster, this is my friend Kiyo," Kuronu trailed off when she noticed no one was listening. Kiyo took a step forward, Aster stood his ground. The silver haired boy was now glaring at Kiyo.

"Guys like you really tick me off." He began.

Pegasus had just finished a riveting conversation with one of his many guests. As he turned around, Kiyo and Aster caught his eye. Kiyo's fists were clenched, he was glaring at Aster. Aster's fists were also clenched, and though he was glaring at Kiyo, he didn't seem as angry. Kuronu was standing behind them both, looking very nervous. Then, without warning, Kiyo punched Aster in the face. Kuronu screamed as a fist fight began.

As the two boys began to fall over, Aster punched Kiyo in the stomach. Aster hit the floor while Kiyo flew back a little; his head hit the floor by Kuronu's feet. The two boys stood up again, whipping their bottom lip with their thumbs. They ran forward, Kiyo rammed Aster in the stomach, sending him flying back, as he fell, her tripped Kiyo. They both lunged at each other again, and began to roll across the floor, punching each other and such.

As they rolled across the floor, people screamed as they moved out of their way. Yugi stood next to Joey, awe struck. Tea came up behind him. "Yugi, do something!" Yugi just stood there. Pegasus pushed through the crowd that had gathered around the two boys.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," He began. Kiyo and Aster stood. "This is no way to fight over a lady." Kuronu slightly blushed.

Haru and Hiro, who were standing by the food table looked at each other, then smiled. "FOOD FIGHT!!!" They shouted as they each threw a pie, which hit Kiyo and Aster in the face. They threw other pies which hit other random people in the face. Before too long, everyone was through food at everyone else. Kiyo and Aster each found a pie and threw it at the other, continuing their fight.

Kuronu ran across the room, trying to dodge the flying food. The girl's bath room was in sight. _If I could just make it there, _A pie hit her hard in the back her head, causing her to trip and fall, her facing landing right in a pie that had been on the floor. As she looked up she whipped the wiped cream from her face, and there, sitting in a chair in front of her was Mallory. Mallory sat there with her arms folded across her chest, not moving, not blinking. Pies and cakes and other foods went flying past her, but nothing hit her. Kuronu's jaw dropped as she was bombarded with more pies.

"How do you do that?" She asked, amazed. Mallory looked down at her, and then looked back up.

Seto stood against the wall as he watched Hiro throw a pie at Tishegie. Every single person in the room was caked with wiped cream and pie filling. How could so many rich people - excluding the Moto's and Wheelers, they weren't rich- be so childish? He glanced over as Pegasus walked over, also covered in pie.

He threw his arms in the air. "I love your family!" He exclaimed. Seto whacked his forehead, and a lemon pie immediately flew into his face. Seto whipped it off with much distain. He felt a tap on his shoulder. As he looked over his face landed in a pie.

Meisha laughed. "Ah, Seto, you look so handsome with pie on your face." She said to him. Seto licked the cream off his lips and whipped it off his eyes.

"You know, normally I don't believe in being childish," He turned around and picked up a pie, as he turned back his face hit another one. Pegasus burst out laughing. Seto wiped the cream off his face for the third time in the last two minuets. "This means war," He muttered. He grabbed a pie and smashed it into the back of Meisha's head. As her face fell forward, he picked up another pie and put it do her face fell into it.

"Now we're even." He told her.

"Maybe, but it wont stay that way for long." A man walked by, as he did, Meisha grabbed the pie from him and chucked it Seto, who ducked, causing it to hit Pegasus. The silver haired man looked at her, picked up a blue berry pie and hit Meisha square in the chest. Seto chuckled.

"I just HAD to choose to wear white to this, didn't I?" he mumbled.

Maya looked around, a cherry pie in her hand. Everyone was covered in whipped cream and fruity pie fillings making it hard to tell anyone apart. "Haru?" She called. "Geez, you'd think it'd be easy to find him with that spiky hair of his." She then saw a tower of spiky brown hair. She smiled as she ran over. "Haru?" She asked as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"There you are," He said as he pulled her into a kiss.

Kuronu ran. _I'm almost there!_ She was inches from the bath room door. She was then bombarded with twenty so pies. She fell to the floor, lying on her back. "Why do even bother?" As she sat up she saw Mallory walk past her, not a single spec of pie on her. "How do you bloody do that?" She exclaimed, only to be completely ignored. As she stood up Kiyo and Aster ran by, throwing pie after pie at each other, and relatively hard too. "Ouch, they're gonna be sore tomorrow." She commented, then got hit with twenty more pies.

Mallory scanned the room. This was the most retarded thing she had ever seen. Hundreds of people just throwing pies at each other for n particular reason, and it was all because of her dorky brothers. She then saw her dad against a wall with Joey and Yugi. "Dad," She said. Joey and Yugi gaped at her. "What time is it?" She asked. Seto looked at his watch.

"11:07," He replied.

"Mallory?" Yugi asked. Mallory glanced at him. "Is that you?"

"Who else would it be?" She asked.

"What happened to your hair?" Joey asked. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. He then remembered. "Oh yah, you guys haven't seen Mallory in what, two years?" They both nodded. Mallory rolled her eyes as she walked away.

"How has nothing hit her?" Yugi asked as they watched her walk right throw the center of the room, and still nothing hit her. Pies were flying around her from every direction.

"Mallory!!" Kuronu called as she ran throw the room. "I need you to tell me how you don't get-" The youngest Kaiba was then hit with many pies, knocking her to the ground. Seto whacked his forehead, and again a pie flew into his face.

"Why does that keep happening?" He asked. "Who the hell is throwing pies at me!!??" He shouted. Joey laughed. As Seto wiped the cream off his face, he saw his sons running by. He grabbed both of them by the ear. "You two!"

"Ow, ow, ow," They said.

"This is your entire guy's fault!" He shouted at them.

"Actually," Hiro began. "This is Kiyo and that silver haired kid's fault."

"My name is Aster Phoenix!" Aster called, and then was immediately tackled by Kiyo.

"I'm gonna kill that kid." Tea said as she came up behind Yugi. All different kinds of pies covered her face and body. "Kiyo is SO grounded for this!"

As Kuronu stood up a pie was throw in her face again. "Ok, this is getting ridiculous!" She looked down and saw Sakura, another pie in her hand. Kuronu glared at her. "You're an evil little girl, Sakura."

"I know," She said as she threw the second pie at the Kaiba. "That's for not dueling me." She said as she walked off.

Kiyo punched Aster in the face as Aster punched him. Both had bloody noses black eyes. "Wait!" Aster called as Kiyo prepared for another attack. "Why are we fighting again?"

"You were flirting with Kuronu!" Kiyo shouted. Aster blinked, which hurt.

"No I wasn't." He said.

"You kissed her hand!" He barked. Aster straitened up and adjusted his tie, which was caked in cherries.

"Look, I wasn't trying to steal your girlfriend, ok?"

"She- she's not my girlfriend." Kiyo said, looking down at the floor. Aster raised an eyebrow. "Whatever, I've wasted enough time fighting with you. Later Phoenix." And with that, Kiyo walked away.

"Wait, you can't just walk away and leave a fight hanging like that!" Aster called. "What a looser."

Kiyo walked trough the room, his hands in his pockets. He looked at the various people throwing cakes and pies at each other. "All this because that Phoenix guy kissed Kuronu's hand and I couldn't control my feelings." He then tripped over something.

"Ow!" Said the thing that Kiyo had tripped over as it began to sit up. Kiyo suddenly realized that it was a person.

"I'm so sorry." He began. The person was covered from head to toe with whipped cream. Not a single inch of skin or clothing was visible.

"Kiyo, is that you?" The person asked as it blew some cream off of its face. Kiyo sat up and wiped away the whipped cream from their face.

"Kuronu?" He half laughed. "What happened?"

"Speak up, I can't hear so well with whipped cream in my ears!" She shouted. She wiped her hands on the floor, and then gouged the cream out of her ears with her pinky. "So what's the big idea tripping over me like that?"

"Sorry, but I highly doubt that anyone in this room would be able to tell that you were a person. What happened?" He asked.

"No matter where I go, I keep getting pummeled with pies, so I eventually just gave up, and in a few minuets, I was completely buried." She explained. She then noticed the bloody nose, bloody lip, and black eye. "Eesh, what happened to you?" She asked as she handed him a whipped cream covered hankie.

"I had I bit of a fist fight with that Phoenix guy." He explained as he placed the handkerchief under his nose. He leaned his head back.

"Yah, that's kind of what started the whole pie fight…well, actually my brothers did, but who knows, maybe if you hadn't started that fight with what's his face-"

"Aster Phoenix!!" The silver boy shouted, and then stormed off in the opposite direction.

"Yah, that guy, maybe my brother wouldn't have started this food fight." She said, then got a pie thrown in her face.

"It was his fault," Kiyo muttered.

"Why did you attack him anyways?" Kiyo's whole face turned red.

"Uh…um…you see…"

"Hey everybody, it's almost midnight!" Some random person called. Everyone put down there pies as Pegasus turned on a giant TV that was hanging on the wall. It took up about most of the wall it was on.

"Well, I think it's pretty safe to say that this will be the most unforgettable New Year's ever." Haru said as he, Hiro, Mayazakie, and Tishegie came over. Kuronu and Kiyo glared at the twins.

"What?" Hiro asked, almost innocently.

"Om gosh, Kiyo what happened?" Tia asked as she knelt down by her little brother.

"It's nothing, really." He insisted.

"Here, let me help you." She tried to take the hankie away.

"No, its fine sis, let go."

Kuronu slowly stood; she was still glaring at her brothers. "Because of you two I am drenched it pie filling and whipped cream." She began. "I even have it in my nose!" She began to walk towards them, while they stepped back. "Every single person in this room is covered in whipped cream."

"Not quite," Haru said.

"Huh?"

"You said every person in the room was covered in whipped cream." Hiro said.

"That's not true." Haru finished. Kuronu raised an eyebrow. The twins cocked their heads to right. Kuronu looked over and saw Mallory sitting in her chair filing her nails. Not a single spec of food was on her. Kuronu's jaw dropped to the floor like a rock while her eyes were as large as dinner plates.

"Whatever, let's just skip to the chase." She said as she ran after her brothers. They both screamed like little girls.

Seto whacked his forehead as he watched Kuronu chase the twins. A pie landed in his face. "That's getting REALLY old." He said. Meisha walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Oooh, strawberry flavored," She commented. "Wow Seto, you taste pretty darn good." Haru and Hiro ran over.

"Oh, oh, I wanna taste!" Hiro exclaimed. Haru leaned over and licked his father's other cheek. Seto whacked him hard over the head.

"Ew," He said as he wiped his cheek off. Kuronu came over as she and Hiro stared down at Haru, who was now on the floor.

"Dude," Kuronu said, both eye brows raised. "That was NASTY." Hiro nodded in agreement. Kuronu then glared at Hiro and he set off screaming as he ran again, with Kuronu close behind him, a large knife in her hand this time.

Meisha looked over at the giant TV. On it a giant silver ball hung at the top of a large pole, a timer was at the bottom of the screen. About twenty seconds till the new year. Mokuba walked over to them.

"Where have you been?" Seto asked.

"Around." He replied. "My old girlfriend was here. Seto raised an eye brow.

"Which one?" He asked. Meisha giggled.

"Katrina,"

"Which Katrina? You've dated like, four of them." Mokuba glared at him.

"Actually, only two Katrina's. The one I dated three times, that's who I saw tonight. The other Katrina broke up with me as soon as I mentioned that I had dated another girl named Katrina, but that was ok because she wasn't as hot as the one here." Seto rolled his eyes.

The timer was now at ten seconds. The people began to count down.

10

Kuronu stopped chasing her brothers as the giant ball on the screen began to drop.

9

Kiyo walked over to her, his nose had stopped bleeding.

8

"Where is that?" Kiyo asked.

7

"New York," Kuronu replied.

6

"Must be really cold there." He commented, it was snowing there.

5

"Yah, but I bet it'd still be really cool."

4

"The ball's shiny."

3

"What?" Kuronu asked.

2

Kiyo pointed at it. "It's shiny." He repeated.

1

"It is shiny, isn't it?"

"Happy New Year!!" Haru and Hiro shouted through a mega phone right behind Kuronu. Both Kuronu and Kiyo's hair stood up. A silver ball that was hanging on the ceiling exploded. Confetti flew out of it.

"Well, now that that's over," Kiyo began as he brushed off pieces of confetti. "Can we go home now?" He asked as he dad walked by. Yugi sighed.

"I suppose we should hurry back so we can clean up." Tea walked over with Sakura.

"Yes, we are going home." She said. "And you young man, are grounded!" She pointed her finger at Kiyo.

Kiyo sighed. "What a drag." He mumbled as his parents led him away. He waved at Kuronu as he left. Kuronu waved back, smiling.

Tishegie lightly kissed Hiro on the lips. "I guess we're leaving." She said. She smiled as she walked over to her family. Haru came up beside his brother.

"Well, this was an enjoyable night." He commented. He smiled at Maya who walking out with her parents. Hiro nodded.

"Very enjoyable," His eyes sparkled with admiration as he watched Tia leave.

Kuronu sighed as she sat down on the floor. The next morning she would board a ship that would take her to duel academy. _I hope nothing's happened while I wasn't there._ She thought about Jaden and the shadow riders. _If anything were to happen to either of you…_

_FLASHBACK_

_Kuronu quickly ran up the steps. Zane's life point meter dropped to zero, he fell to his knees as his key disappeared from his neck._

_Kuronu collapsed by him and hugged him tightly. Tears dripped down her face. She gasped as he began to disappear. She tried to grab him, but her fingers went right through him. "No, don't go!" She sobbed._

_END FLASHBACK_

She couldn't stand that thought of anything like that happening to Jaden, and if he was gone, who would be able to get him back? "Kuronu?" A voice said behind her. She turned around and saw her father standing behind her. "Are you ok?" He asked as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. The girl nodded.

"Yah, I was just thinking about Jaden." She replied. Seto weakly smiled.

"You know that I just want to make sure your safe…"

"I know," She told him. "I just hope nothing happens to him." Seto smiled again as he walked away. As he left Kuronu thought of something. She felt empty when Zane's soul had been taken. _Dad would probably feel the same._ She realized. She looked over and saw Haru and Hiro waving at her by the door. Mallory was next to them, her arms folded across her chest like always.

"Come on Kuronu, it's time to go!" They called. Kuronu smiled as she ran over to them.

_Yah, time to go back to duel academy._

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Authoresses note: Well that was an…interesting chapter. Please rreview and no harsh flames.

SPECIAL CONTEST TYPE THING FOR GOOD ANIME DRAWERS

I'm asking any good drawers out there to please draw one of your favorite ocs of mine. This is optional; you don't have to do it. I just want to see what you think my characters look like. And if you wanted to you could stick some of the real characters in there, IF YOU WANT TO. This is NOT mandatory. I will then choose the from the pictures and pick the ones that look like them the most, but if there are some really amazing awesome ones that don't look anything like them, but are still freaking awesome, I'll probably stick those on my profile too, unless you'd rather me not.

Everyone can try EXCEPT fire if the heart mostly because she's seen all the pictures and what they look like, and this is also payback for not letting me enter her contest. P.


	35. Back to the academy

Authoress note: Ok, I FINALLY got my scanner to work!!! So I'm gonna put the pictures up now cuz it was just now that I found out that it worked. Any who thanks so much guys for reviewing.

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Chapter 35: Back to the academy.

Kuronu yawned as she stepped out onto the deck of the ship. She stretched her arms as she looked up into the clear blue sky. The crisp, cool air blew around her long, brown hair. Her blue eyes sparkled. She had gotten on the ship early that morning, but was tired so decided to take a nap. _I wonder how close we are. _She thought to herself. A man with gray hair and a black suit approached her.

"Do you desire any thing to eat Miss Kaiba?" He asked.

"Desire?" she muttered. "Geez, you gotta lighten up…Alfred…hey which reminds me," She began. "Were you born with such a butler soundingish name, or did you take that name for yourself when you decided to be a butler?"

"My parents gave me that name when I was born in England." He exclaimed. "Now, do you desire to eat anything?"

"No, I do not desire to eatith anythingith thankith youith." She teased. The man walked away.

Kuronu leaned against the railing. She had on a light denim mini skirt and brown boots that went to her knees. She also had a gray sweater that came down to right below her chest, with a white tee shirt underneath. She looked over as one of the sailors passed by.

"What time is it?" She asked. He looked at his watch.

"Nine fifteen ma'am." He replied. Kuronu blinked.

"That's it? I've only been asleep for two hours?" She exclaimed, followed by a sigh. She slid down the railing. "It'll take FOREVER to get there."

A few hours later, Kuronu was sitting in the dinning hall on her father's boat. Plates of food sat around her.

"I still don't get why I couldn't take a helicopter." She muttered as she shoved a tuna sandwich into her mouth. "I mean, then it would only take a few hours, but noooooo, I just HAD to take the stupid boat!" She poured the ice tea from her glass into her mouth.

"Miss Kaiba, don't eat so fast." Alfred scolded. She glared at him as she gulped down her food. "It's not good for you, you could choke." Kuronu leaned back in her chair and stared out the window.

"I wonder what Jaden and the others are doing." She thought aloud.

XXXXXXX

Jaden walked over to Alexis. She was standing behind her brother, watching him. "How's he doing?" He asked. She shook her head.

"He can walk and everything, but her doesn't remember anything at all." She explained sadly. Jaden put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The blonde girl then noticed a man with gray hair and a hat on. A giant piece of gold that looked like an eye covered his right eye.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"My name is Don Zaloog," He announced. "I'm a detective, here to help guard you against the reaming shadow riders."

XXXXXXX

Kuronu stared down into the water as the waves lapped against the boat. "I am so bored," She whined, when she noticed that the motor suddenly stopped. "What the," She muttered. A group of men ran past her. "What's going on?" She called after them. One of them stopped.

"The engine broke down." He explained. "But don't worry; we'll have it fixed in a few minuets." He told her. Kuronu sighed as she walked over to the doors.

"This is just great," She muttered as she sulked into her room.

Kuronu leaned against the wall outside, staring up at the blue sky. "We've been out here for weeks!" She cried. "No food, no water," A shadow appeared over here.

"Miss Kaiba, what are you talking about?" Alfred asked. "The engine broke not even fifteen minuets ago, and we have more than enough food and water to last us several weeks." He told her. Kuronu sat up straight.

"Alfred, you're ruining the drama," She exclaimed. "Gosh," She muttered. Alfred blinked as she got up and walked away.

"If you say so Miss Kaiba," He murmured. He shook his head. "Maybe I need to retire."

As Kuronu walked down the deck, the boat lurched as it moved forward again. She ran to the railing and look down to see that the propeller was turning up the water again as it plowed the boat forward. "Finally," She whispered.

XXXXXXX

"I'll put my key under the sink." Chazz explained as he put his spirit key under it.

"That's a good place," Zaloog commented. "No one will ever think to look there." The door then rattled. "Who's there?" He demanded.

"Chill out," Jaden said as he opened the door. "It's just Gorg the janitor."

They then went to Jaden's room, where he hid his key in a drawer. "Keeping it in an obvious place is also good." Zaloog said, followed by the door rattling. "Now who's there?!"

Jaden opened the door. "Ah- ha!" He shouted. He saw a slifer boy startled. Suddenly Syrus and Chumley came over.

"Hey CK, you lost again?" Syrus asked.

"Your rooms next door, remember?" Jaden told him.

"Oh yah," He said as he ran off.

CK's a new transfer student," Chumley began to explain. "He's kinda on the slow side, I love dueling him."

Then they moved to Alexis's room, where she put her key in a jewelry box. "It'll be hard to open that box." Zaloog remarked. Suddenly a woman with long brown hair entered.

"Oh, I'm sorry I uh, didn't mean to disturb you all." She apologized.

"Who's this?" Zaloog asked.

"It's cool," Alexis began. "She's the school nurse, no one to worry about."

Banner put his key in a safe and closed the door. "I bet your spirit key will be safe there, Professor Banner." Said Chumley. Zaloog then saw a man pass by the door.

"Wait who's that over there?" He asked suspiciously.

"Oh, that's just Cliff, the security guard." Banner explained. "If anything, he'll make it safer."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu leaned against the rail excitedly. It was dark out, but she could see the outline of duel academy. "Finally." She said aloud.

Kuronu climbed off the ship with her suit case. As she walked away, the ship began to leave the dock. Kuronu smiled as she walked up the hill to the main building. It was pretty much completely dark. _I wonder where I'm supposed to go. _She wondered. She suddenly saw Jaden, Syrus, Chazz, and Alexis running down to the slifer dorms.

"Hey Jaden!!!!" She called. The four stopped and looked at her.

"Kuronu!" Jaden exclaimed as the girl ran over to them. "Sweet, your back! How was your party?"

"It was," She began. "Interesting," She said. "But enough about that, what's going?"

"The spirit keys have been stolen." Chazz announced. Kuronu gasped.

"Oh my gosh, are you serious?!" She exclaimed. Jaden nodded.

"Yah, but don't worry, a detective is here, so we'll find them." Jaden told her. Kuronu was about to talk when she heard about the most annoying voice ever calling her name.

"Miss Kaiba, Miss Kaiba!" Crowler called as he skipped over to her. Kuronu groaned. "Welcome back to duel academy, I trust your New Year's party was splendid."

"It wasn't mine, it was Pegasus's." She explained. 'And it wasn't exactly splendid, I was caked in pie filling by the end, I'll tell you that." Everyone stared at her. "I'll explain later." She said to Jaden.

"Yes, well, anyways, your father has given me a list of rules for you to follow, and has made it my job to make sure you follow them." Crowler announced. Kuronu groaned.

_Of all the things dad could've done to me, he just HAD to give Crowler the job of baby sitting me._

"Rule number one, no hanging out with slifers!"

"Nu-uh. I just can't hang out with the people who have spirit keys, so I can hang out with Syrus, and Chumley, and Zane, and Bastion." The youngest Kaiba told him. Crowler glared at her.

"Look you, your father gave ME the rules, and ME the job to make sure you follow them, so that's what I'm going to do!" He then grabbed her arm and began to pull her away. "Now come, I must read you the rules and show you your new room and uniform." Kuronu struggled to get free, but to no avail.

"Go on Jaden, find those spirit keys!" She called back. Jaden nodded as he and his companions ran back to the slifer dorms.

XXXXXXX

Crowler sat Kuronu down in a chair in front of his desk in his office. He stood in front of her with a long piece of paper.

"Those aren't the rules my dad sent! No way there is that many."

"Well too bad Miss Kaiba, because these ARE in fact the rules your father sent me. Now pay attention. Rule number one: No hanging out with slifers what so ever." Kuronu glared at him.

"Number two: no going with twenty feet of the slifers dorms from any side. Number three: Your curfew is at eight o'clock sharp."

"Curfew?!" Kuronu exclaimed. "Since when do I have a freakin curfew?"

"Since now, now shut up and listen. Your father told me not to take any lip from you, and that's exactly what I'm going to do!" Kuronu stared at him. "I mean, that's exactly what I'm NOT going to do." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Rule number four: Your must be in bed, lights out at eight thirty. Number five,"

Kuronu slumped in her chair as she crossed her arms. Crowler had to be making these up. She hadn't had a curfew since she was ten, and now she had to go to bed at eight thirty? Ludicrous. _I hope Jaden and the others find the keys soon. _

XXXXXXXXX

"He did it!" Chazz shouted, pointing at Cliff. "And him!" he was now pointing at Gorg. "And him!" he said, now pointing at CK. "And her!" The nurse seemed startled.

"And, you're basing this on what?" CK asked.

"Yah," Meanea said. "Your heard them, there's no proof! You've got nothing on us!"

"Oh don't I?" Chazz smirked at this.

"Look," Zaloog began. "How about I ask the questions."

"How about," Chazz said as he reached into his coat pocket. "We hear from them!" He held up the three Ojama brothers. "See, when we hid each of the spirit keys, I placed one of them in each of the locations, and in my dorm room," He shuffled all his other cards. "I had all of these." He then dropped all the cards. He blushed at this "The point is they all saw who did it!"

"Caught ya red handed." Ojama black said.

"Certainly did!" Ojama green exclaimed.

"You guys are so busted." Ojama yellow told them.

"Who told you what?" Zaloog asked.

"Really," Meanea said, looking around. "I'm lost." "Where are these so called witnesses?" The four suspects asked,

"Well maybe you can't see them, but I can," Said Chazz. "And I know they're behind this, detective." Zaloog chuckled.

"You're mistaken," He said. "It's not just them, it's me too." He announced.

"What?" Everyone exclaimed.

"That's right my children, all of us are in on it. We are the criminal ring known as," Zaloog and the suspects all threw their clothes off. "The Dark Scorpions!" They all said in unison.

"Sorry, never heard of you." Jaden, Chazz, Alexis, Banner, Chumley, and Syrus said, blinking.

"Of course you haven't," Zaloog began. "We've been under cover at your school for years now, waiting for our chance to nab those keys." He explained. "And now the Scorpions finally have them!" They all said together, doing their signature pose.

"So?" Chazz asked, smirking. "To use them, you'll still have to beat me in a duel, so bring it on."

XXXXXXXX

"Rule number thirty six," Crowler said. Kuronu snored loudly in her chair. "Hey, are you listening to me?" Kuronu woke up and sat up straight.

"What, huh? Uh, yes?" She said, totally confused.

"Good, now as I was saying,"

"How many rules are there?" The brown haired girl asked. Crowled looked down the list.

"Fifty," He replied. "Now, where was I? Ah yes, no causing food fights,"

_Please, that's Haru and Hiro's job. _She thought to herself.

"No eating overly large portions of food at a time and stuff your mouth full of it all, it's bad for you." Kuronu's eyes dropped. She was so bored. _I wonder what Zane is doing? _She thought to herself. " Number thirty seven: No housing pets in your dorm or anywhere on campus." _Now that's a rule I could see my dad making._

"Rule thirty eight: You must turn in all home work on time, or we're cutting the cable." Kuronu sighed.

"Oh no, not the cable, please sir, I'll die without cable." She said sarcastically. Crowler glared at her.

"As I was saying, rule thirty nine: no doodling on homework or school papers. Rule forty,"

_Just ten more to go, then I can get out of here. _She sighed. _I wonder what I get for breakfast tomorrow._ She thought. _I hope there's pancakes and sausage, oh, and eggs, lots of eggs and toast. _She looked out the window. From there she could see the slifer dorms. All the lights were off, except for one room. _Jaden…_ She stared out the window. She couldn't see anything that was happening, or the front of the dorms, just the back, which did her no good.

_I wonder what's going on. _She contemplated. _Who was that detective guy Jaden had mentioned? _

"Rule number fifty," Crowler said, interrupting her thoughts. "You will stay withing the area of the Obelisk dorms and the main buildings at all times. No wondering off, no association with Ra's or Slifer's at any time." He concluded.

"Wait, no Ra's?" She asked.

"That's what the rules say." The man said. "Now get your bags, I'll show you to your dorm room now."

Kuronu glared at Crowler's back as she followed him down the halls of the obelisk dorms. He was obviously trying to control her, but she was going to call her dad as soon as she got to her room to sort all this out. Crowler stopped in front of a door.

He opened it and stood by the side as the girl walked in. It was very big, not as big as her room at home, but still big. A large canopy bed was by the wall, and there was a couch and a plasma screen TV. A fire place was across from the bed, and a dresser against a wall.

Kuronu walked to the middle and put her suit case down. "Well, it's pretty late, so get right to bed. Fonda Fontain will wake you up and seven A.M sharp." And with that, Crowler closed the door. Kuronu walked over to her bed where her new uniform laid.

It was mostly navy blue with white. Kuronu sighed as she laid it over a chair. She then sat down on her bed and looked around. The slifer dorms were dirty and smelly and had cockroaches, but it felt more like home than this room ever would.

She looked at the French doors that opened to a balcony. A large tree was by it. Kuronu smirked as she walked out onto the balcony. It was rather cold out, but not freezing. She climbed onto a tree branch and carefully slid down. Once she hit the ground she ran off.

XXXXXXXXX

"Mt turn," Chazz announced as he drew his card. "Go, pot of greed!" He drew two cards from his deck zone and looked at them. "And next, I'll play polymerization. Scared yet?" Zaloog stepped back. "You will be," Chazz then held up his three Ojama cards. "Do your thing Ojamas!"

"You got it," Ojama yellow said as he bounced onto the ground.

"Time to show these numb skulls," Said Ojama black.

"It coitenly is." Agreed Ojama green. The three Ojamas jumped into the air and fused into a giant white thing. "Ojama king." It said. (0000 ATK)

"What is that" Zaloog asked nervously as the three Ojama tokens on his side of the field jumped um and down in excitement.

"Now," Said Chazz. "I play my spell card, Oja muscle." The Ojama king suddenly got muscles.

"Ojama tokens," It said. "Come to daddy." A giant blue tongue shot out of its mouth as it picked up the Ojama tokens on Zaloog's field and swallowed them.

"Oja muscle destroys all ojama monsters out, and for every one that's destroyed, King gains 1000 attack points." Chazz explained. "Oh, and sense those were Ojama tokens that were destroyed, you now loose nine hundred life points." Zaloog flinched as his life points dropped to 300.

"And now," Chazz continued. "King's attack points will rise to three thousand! Now go, Ojama king, attack Don with flying belly flop drop!" Ojama king jumped into the air, and then dropped down onto Zaloog. Chazz smirked as the others cheered. "Bye- bye."

XXXXXXX

Kuronu continued to run as she saw a cloud of smoke rise into the air. _What is that?_ She stopped and put her hands on her knees and she tried to catch her breath. After a few seconds she started to run again. She turned the corner around the slifer dorms and saw Jaden. Syrus, Chumley, Alexis, and Professor Banner standing by the dorm building, while Chazz was a bit further ahead.

"What happened?" She asked. They looked over.

"Kuronu, you missed it!" Jaden exclaimed as he ran over. "The shadow riders attacked again, but Chazz took care of them." Kuronu blinked, and then let out a sigh.

"Man, how come I always miss the shadow riders." She whined. Jaden chuckled.

"How'd your meeting with Crowler go?" Syrus asked. Kuronu shook her head.

"Horrible. There's all these stupid rules, that I highly doubt my dad made, such as, I can't hang out with Slifer or Ra students AT ALL, or go near their dorms, I have to stay within the area of the obelisk dorms, and the main building." She explained.

"What?!" The three slifer's exclaimed. "That's not fair!" Said Jaden.

"I know, and I have a curfew of eight o'clock." She moaned. The others cringed.

"Harsh." Alexis commented.

"Yah, so I had better get back to my dorm." She said as she turned to leave. "Just came to see what was going on." And with that she ran off.

"Poor Kuronu," Jaden said.

"Yah, but I'm sure she'll call her dad tomorrow and sort everything out." Syrus thought. Alexis yawned.

"Well, I had better get to bed too. G'night." She said as also headed to the obelisk dorms.

"I'll see you guys in the morning." Banner told his students as he took Banner into his room.

"Night Chazz." Jaden called as Chazz walked up to his room.

"Whatever," He muttered. Jaden sighed as he looked up at the moon.

_It's gonna be weird no being able to hang with Kuronu._ Jaden thought. _But I'm sure she'll be ok. _

"You coming Jay?" Syrus asked.

"Yah," He replied as he walked up the steps to his dorm room.

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Authoress note: Ok, I'll end it there. Please review, no harsh flames. Now, about the pictures I have posted on my profile of my ocs: They are all the way at the bottom. They aren't great, really bad actually, but eventually I'll draw better ones and post those. Please try not to laugh too hard at my feeble attempt at drawing anime. Yah, I have really low self esteem, but whatever. I'll try to update as soon as possible, cuz thing are gonna start getting good.

Oh yah, about every update if you want you can check to see if I have new pics of my ocs, that's probably when I'll upload them, so they'll be near the bottom.


	36. First day in Obelisk Blue

Authoresses note: Yay, new chapter!!! Ok guys, thanks so much for your reviews. For the picture contest thing of mine, I got one picture of Kuronu from Fennecfox03, and I love it so very much. I'll post along with a bunch of new better pics of my ocs. Ok, on with the chapter.

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Chapter 36: First day in Obelsik blue

Kuronu groaned as the loud alarm clock sounded in her ear, though she didn't know it was a clock. "You obelisk snobs had better shut up before I make you shut up." She grumbled. The noise didn't stop. "Fine, I warned you." She sleepily grabbed the clock and threw it, causing the cord to unplug. It soared across the room until it crashed against the wall. Kuronu sat straight up. She climbed to the end of her bed and looked at the smashed clock on the floor.

"Woops." She muttered. "I wonder what time it is." She sighed. "Probably seven in the early freakin morning." She grumbled as she crawled out of bed. She picked up her dark blue obelisk uniform. It wasn't horrible, it was just…different. Her whole life, red had been her favorite color, so she liked being in the slifer dorms and wearing the slifer uniform, but she now knew that she'd never be able to wear the uniform again.

She sighed as walked into the bath room. She closed the door and turned the hot water knob for the bath tub. _Today's going to be weird, I can tell. _She thought to herself. _No Jaden, or Syrus, or Chumley. Not even Bastion, Alexis, and Chazz…oh well, at least I have Zane…though he's a third year and has totally different classes than me. _She sighed. _This is SUCH a drag. After lunch, I'm calling my dad._

Kuronu walked through the halls of the obelisk dorms. Her obelisk blazer lay open just like how she had worn her slifer uniform. She stared intently on a map that had been programmed into her PDA. "Now, if this map is correct, and if I followed it correctly, the meal hall should be right around the corner."

She turned a corner and saw a huge open door. Inside the room were lots of tables with food and obelisk girls sitting at the tables. As she stood there, more people walked past her and into the meal hall. Kuronu finally walked in and looked around.

_Where can I sit? _She asked herself. She saw Alexis, but then remembered. _Alexis has a spirit key, and all the teachers are probably aware that I can't hang out with anyone except obelisks, but I can't even be with Alexis because she has a spirit key. _She sighed. She then saw three girls approach her. The girl in the center had long, red hair pulled back in some kind of twist, and snobby smirk on her face. The other two girls walked slightly behind her on either side of her, one had brown hair, and the other had blonde.

"Hey, you're that Kaiba girl, right?" The red haired girl spoke. She then extended her hand. "My name's Rose." She said. Kuronu shook her hand. "And these are my followers," Kuronu winced.

_Followers?_

"Daisy," She pointed to the blonde haired girl. "And Chrysanthemum." Kuronu blinked.

"Wow, Chrysanthemum, that must be a pain to spell." She tried to laugh but stopped when the three girls just looked at her. "Yah, I'm Kuronu,"

"So your dad owns this school huh?" Rose asked. "AND he's the CEO of Kaiba Corp. How much allowance do you get?" Kuronu scratched her arm uncomfortably. "You must get a lot." Rose then put her arm around Kuronu and led her away.

"Hey isn't that Kuronu?" Jasmine asked as she sat down next to Alexis.

"What's she doing with Rose and her 'followers'?" Mindy wondered. Alexis glared at Rose.

"That girl is such a pain. She's probably trying to befriend Kuronu because of her money or something." The blonde obelisk said. "There are a lot of girls who annoy me, but Rose takes the cake."

"Lexy's getting mad." Mindy whispered to Jasmine. "We gotta change the subject."

"Nice weather we've been having." Jasmine said suddenly, but Alexis didn't take her eyes off of the red haired girl. "Don't you think Lex?"

"Just wait Rose, I'll duel you and humiliate you so bad, and you'll never show your face around her again."

"Uh, Lex…"said Mindy, now freaked out. Alexis looked over at them.

"Huh, what did you say?" She asked. Mindy and Jasmine sighed.

XXXXXXXX

Jaden stirred his cereal with his spoon as he his cheek rested on his hand and his elbow on the table. Syrus and Chumley looked at him worriedly as they sat across from him. "I wonder what Kuronu's doing." He wondered.

"Cheer up Jay, I'm sure she'll call her dad and sort everything out."

"Yah, but only you guys would get to hang out with her." He sighed and banged his head on the table. "Stupid shadow riders, why can't they just go away?" The three slifers sighed.

Chazz who was sitting at a table next to theirs rolled his eyes. "Pathetic." He muttered.

"Come on Jay," Syrus said as he stood up. "We should get to class." Jaden sighed nodded as he also stood up and left with his room mates.

"Geez, you'd think he was in love with Kuronu or something." Chazz said as he followed them out the door.

XXXXXXXX

"Your brothers are so amazing and so hot." Rose told Kuronu as they walked to the main building.

"Yah," was all Kuronu could say.

"I was in my first year last year when they were in their third. I'm telling, it was love at first site. We are totally perfect for each other,"

"For which one?" Kuronu asked.

"Both of them!" She exclaimed. "Now if only that stupid Wheeler girl and that stupid Moto girl hadn't existed, I could have probably dated BOTH of them!" She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Kuronu slowly backed away.

"So," She began. "Daisy, Chrysanthemum, what do you guys like to do?" Kuronu asked. The two girls looked at each other, then at Rose.

"They aren't allowed to talk unless I say they can talk." The red head explained. "That way they don't say anything stupid and embarrass them selves." Rose noticed Kuronu weird look. "I'm doing them a favor, it's to help them." She said. "Anyways," She then gasped. "Oh my gosh!"

"What?" Kuronu asked. Rose pointed ahead.

"There's Zane." She said in a dreamy voice. Kuronu looked over, and sure enough, there was Zane, going into the main building. "I'm gonna go talk to him." She said. "How does my hair look?" She asked. Her 'followers' gave her a thumbs up. Rose then skipped over to Zane. He looked at the red haired girl as she began to speak with him.

_Great, _Kuronu thought. _If Zane likes her, I'm doomed. I mean look at her, perfect silky hair, perfect teeth, and perfect figure, perfect everything. _She sighed. She could hear Rose's loud, obnoxious laugh from where she was.

"Zane, you are so funny." Rose said.

"Yah, I uh, have to go to class now." He told her as he backed away.

"Ok, how about we eat lunch together." The girl suggested.

"Sorry, I'm behind in work." He told her. "Maybe some other time."

"Ok, do your best!" She called as he walked away. She sighed as Kuronu and the other two girls came up to her. "Isn't he soooooooo perfect?" Daisy and Chrysanthemum nodded. "I wish I was in the same class as him." She said as she basically floated into the main building with hearts flying out her head. Kuronu groaned.

As she began to follow, someone grabbed her arm. She was whiled around and saw Alexis's brown eyes almost glaring at her. "What are you doing with Rose?" She asked.

"She offered if I wanted to sit with them…well, more demanded it actually, but still, I'm not aloud to be with you and I don't know anyone else, so…yah." Alexis crossed her arms over her chest.

"She's bad news Kuronu." She began. "She's a stuck up, conceited snob who doesn't care about anyone but herself. I mean, she calls Daisy and Chrysanthemum her 'followers'."

"I know, I don't like her, I just don't know who else to hang out with."

"Anyone' better then her."

"Probably," Kuronu looked down at the ground. "Well, I should probably get going." She slightly waved to Alexis as she walked away. She crossed her arms as she stared at her feet.

_If I can't hang out with any of my normal friends, and Rose is stuck up, conceited snob, who else is there? _She then bumped into someone. "Oh I'm sorry." She said quickly. She then found her staring into a pair of dark brown eyes.

"Hey Kuronu," Jaden said.

"Jaden," She muttered. Kuronu's face became downcast. "What did you have for breakfast?" She asked.

"Oh, some cereal that tasted like crap." He replied. Kuronu giggled. "What about you?"

"Oh, I had blueberry pancakes with butter and powder sugar along with some toast and scrambled eggs." She said. Syrus and Chumley- who were standing behind Jaden- began to slightly drool.

"Sounds good." Jaden said.

"It was good." Kuronu agreed. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Hi Jaden," Alexis said as she came up behind Kuronu. "Hey Syrus, Chumley."

"Hey Lex," Jaden said.

"Wow, we should get to class." The blonde girl said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Make any new friends? Syrus asked Kuronu as they walked.

"Kinda," She replied. Rose's obnoxious laugh rang in her ears. "Not really."

"You'll meet new people." Jaden said as he patted her shoulder. He tried to smile, but it was crooked and weird looking.

"Yah," Kuronu said softly as they walked into the class room. Rose immediately waved to her. "Well, I should go. Some one wants me to sit with them." She walked down to where Rose was.

Who's that?" Chumley inquired.

"Rose," Alexis said, glaring at the red haired girl.

"You obviously don't like her, do you?" Syrus asked. Alexis shook her head no.

"We went to pre- school together, and was as conceited then as she is now. She refused to participate in any of the games, though she was 'too good for childish stuff like that'. And then we went to duel prep school, and she was even worse. And now, she's here!"

"Isn't she a second year?" Chumley asked.

"Yah, but she's only fifteen. She got bumped up a grade. She's the most annoying person I've ever met, but she is really smart and a really good duelist." Alexis explained.

"How good?" Syrus asked.

"Well, at the prep school I used to duel her every day," Alexis began.

"And you whooped her, right?" Chumley assumed. Alexis shook her head.

"No. She's beaten me every single time. I've never seen anyone beat her in a duel." The three slifers gulped.

"Everyone sit down." Crowler said as he walked to his desk. Alexis sat a few rows behind Rose and Kuronu while Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley went over to the slifer section.

The class was relatively boring. Crowler just went over some advanced duel strategies and what card would be best to play against some other card. He called on Rose a few times, each time she answered perfectly. Each time Kuronu and Alexis rolled their eyes.

"Miss Kaiba," Crowler said. Kuronu sat up, startled. "If you're in a duel and your opponent has three face down cards, and a monster in face down defense position, what should you do?" Kuronu blinked.

"Uh…attack the monster and hope the face down cards won't destroy your monster?" She guessed. Several people laughed. Crowler slapped his forehead.

"No." He said bluntly. "Miss Hawthorn?" Rose smirked as she stood up.

"Your best bet would be to activate giant trunade and return all the cards on the field the owner's hand then summon a monster and attack your opponent directly." She explained, and then sat down. Many people in the room clapped.

"Excellent miss Hawthorn." Crowler congratulated.

Kuronu slouched in her chair. _Duh, everyone knows that, come on; I learned that in first grade. Stupid test anxiety…even though it wasn't a test…STILL!_ She grumbled to herself. She looked at Rose who was taking notes. _Geez, Rose HawTHORN? What kind of name is that? _

The class finally ended soon after. Everyone began to get up from their seats when Crowler stopped them. "I have an announcement to make," He said. "On the fourteenth of February, we hold a valentine's dance." Most of the girls squealed in excitement. "You must buy tickets by February tenth, so hurry up and find a date, you have about one month." He then exited the room.

"That speech sound really rehearsed." Rose commented. "And he didn't put much enthusiasm into it either." Daisy and Chrysanthemum nodded as Rose walked past Kuronu.

_Guess they don't want to hang out with someone who gives stupid answers due to stage fright. _Kuronu thought to herself as she walked up the steps. "It wasn't that bad, I mean, it works…sometimes." She mumbled. She saw Alexis, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley waiting by the door for her.

"That was a really stupid answer." Was the first thing that came out of Alexis' mouth. Kuronu fell over anime style.

"Even I knew it was a stupid answer." Syrus agreed.

"Yah, but did you know the answer?" Kuronu asked him. Syrus didn't reply.

"But whatever, what do you think about the dance?" Alexis asked Kuronu as they walked to the cafeteria.

"I don't know," The girl admitted. She then looked up and saw Crowler; a look was on his face that said 'you know you'er not allowed to be with them.' "Uh, I'm gonna go calmly dad." She quickly and ran off. Crowler still continued to approach the group.

"You know Kuronu's father's rules," He began. "Don't force Miss Kaiba to break them." He scolded.

"We're not forcing her," Jaden protested. "She's choosing too because she and the rest of us think they're stupid rules." Alexis and Syrus quickly covered his mouth.

"What he means by that is, uh," Syrus tried to think of an excuse. "We'll leave Kuronu alone sorry for the inconvenience." With that they dragged him away.

"What was that for?" Jaden asked once they had turned a corner.

"Do you want anymore rules to be laid on Kuronu?" Alexis asked him.

"Oh yah, sorry." Alexis, Syrus, and Chumley all sighed.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu ran into her room and grabbed her cell phone. She pressed the speed dial button that called her father's cell phone. It rang for several minuets, but now answer. "Darn it." She hissed as she pressed another speed dial, one that called her father's work phone. Again, no answer. "Where is he?" She then called the secretary.

"Hello?" A woman said.

"Hi Jess, it's Kuronu."

"Oh, hi Miss Kaiba, what can I do for you?" Her voice was…weird sounding. It always sounded like she had a cold, or was holding her nose.

"Where's my dad?" Kuronu asked.

"In a meeting." The woman replied.

"Oh…when will he be done?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, you're the secretary."

"Your point?" An anger point appeared on Kuronu's forehead.

"Just…just tell him I called and to call me back, ok?"

"I'll get the message to him." Then there was a click. Kuronu glared at the phone.

"Dad seriously needs a new secretary." Kuronu commented as she hooked her phone onto her belt. "Guess I'll go eat lunch." She said as she left her room.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu entered the cafeteria and looked around. Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Chazz, Bastion, and Alexis were sitting at a table. She wanted to sit with them, but Crowler wasn't too fare away from where they were. She saw Zane sitting at a table, with Rose next to him and her two followers on the other side also there. Kuronu sighed. _I despise Rose, but I love Zane._ She got her food and then headed over to where they were. Rose looked up at her as she approached. She gave the Kaiba a weird look.

"Hey Zane," Kuronu said as she stood by the end of the table. Rose gave her another weird glance, this one slightly confused.

"Hey Kuronu," He replied. He looked at her. "I haven't seen you since we left your house." He said. Kuronu slightly smiled. Rose was now really confused. "Nice uniform." He commented. Kuronu stared down at her dark blue uniform.

"Thanks," She replied.

"I liked your red one better though." Kuronu slightly blushed at this.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Rose said. "You were that slifer girl?" She asked. Kuronu nodded. "Ok and you two some how know each other?" Zane and Kuronu both nodded. "How?" She inquired, almost frantic sounding. "And what's this about being at her house?"

"Can I sit down?" Kuronu asked. Zane nodded and she sat next to him. "Ok see, as you should know being a huge fan of my brothers, Haru and Hiro are very good friends with Zane, so when I came to the academy, I also befriended him and him and all my other friends came over to my house for Christmas vacation." She explained.

"Oh," Was all Rose could say. "And who are all your other friends?" She asked.

Kuronu pointed to the table where Jaden was sitting. "All of them." She said. Rose's jaw dropped.

"Alexis Rhodes is sitting over there." She said.

"What's wrong with Alexis?" Zane asked. Rose paled.

"Nothing, just, she was really mean to me in Pre School and the duel prep school and even now sometimes. She gives me these really nasty looks." She tried to make her voice sound helpless and innocent. Kuronu had to force her self not laugh.

"If you say so." She muttered.

"Are you calling me a liar?!" Rose hissed at her. Kuronu opened her can of soda.

"I never said that."

"You're mocking me!" The red head's right eye was now slightly twitching.

"And you're paranoid." Kuronu told her, scooting away. Rose suddenly stood up.

"I am not paranoid!!!!!" She screamed. Everyone in the room looked at her. "Stop staring at me!!" She screamed at everyone. They all turned away and went back to what they were doing. "You're whispering about me," She whispered, though the room was completely silent. You're all thinking mean things about me," Her whole body was twitching. Zane raised an eyebrow as Kuronu casually sucked her soda out of the can via a straw, watching the girl freak out over nothing.

"Oooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkk," Jaden whispered to Alexis.

"STOP TALKING ABOUT ME!!!!!!!!!!" Rose screamed. She then turned around and ran out of the room, Daisy and Chrysanthemum followed. Everyone stared at where the girl had once been, then shrugged and continued with their lunch.

"Have you heard about the dance?" Kuronu asked Zane, trying to sound casual. He nodded.

"Yah, it was announced in my class. Anyone you want to go with?" Kuronu blushed.

"Uh, well, not really I guess, I mean," Kuronu had an odd personality. She was normally just kind of…normal, then other times all cynical or just rather smart-alecky and such, and then there was when she was ditzy. She was usually ditzy around people she liked, mainly Zane, and just normal with people she was good friends with, Jaden and co. Then cynical around people she despised, that being Rose. She never really stayed in one mood for very long.

"What about you?" She asked. Zane shrugged.

"I wasn't really planning on going." He said as he got up. Kuronu could feel al hopes of going to the dance with Zane shatter. "I have some homework to do, I'll see you later." He told her as he left. Kuronu slightly waved. When he was gone she let out a huge sigh.

XXXXXXX

Alexis ran over to Kuronu on her way back to her dorm room. "Kuronu, she said. Kuronu stopped walking and looked at her. "What did you do to make Rose so upset?" It had been several hours since that had happened, but neither of the girls had gotten a chance to talk since then. Kuronu shrugged.

"Nothing really. She just started freaking out over nothing." She replied.

"Well, whatever you did, it was really funny. She didn't go to any of her classes for the rest of the day." Kuronu couldn't help but smile.

"That was pretty fun." She agreed.

"Well, you had better get ready for dinner." Alexis told her as she ran off to her dorm. Kuronu stopped walking.

"Dinner," She breathed. "All alone," She muttered.

Kuronu collapsed on her bed later that night, though it was only eight thirty. She sighed. She hadn't really eaten dinner, but she wasn't very hungry. It wasn't as though she ate alone, no, many people had wanted her to sit next to them, and she spent the whole night either telling them about her room and her stuff, or tell them about things that her brothers did. It wasn't exactly the type of conversation she enjoyed.

"I don't like being an obelisk." She moaned. She looked at her cell phone. She assumed that Jess hadn't given her dad the message. _I'll call tomorrow. _She figured.

She sat up and took her uniform off, then pulled on her pajamas and climbed into her bed. She pulled the covers over her head and soon fell asleep.

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Authoresses note: Ok, I'll end it there. Please review, no harsh flames, um, can't really think of too much else to say, send in those pictures if you have a scanner and can draw. Wow, short end note, so let's keep it that way.


	37. Getting a Date for the Dance

Authoresses note: ok, first off, thanks so much for reviewing guys, um…well, can't really think of anything else to say, so I'll just start the chapter.

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Chapter 37: Getting a date for the dance

Kuronu stared, bored, at Crowler as he gave his lesson. It was February tenth, the last day to buy tickets for the dance, and she still didn't have a date. It wasn't as though no one had asked, no, many boys had, but they all felt the need to call her 'Kaiba girl' or just plain old 'girl', showing that they only wanted to go to the dance with her because she was rich.

As she sat alone- well, not alone, lots of people were around her, but non of which were her friends, so she felt alone- she thought about the events of the last few weeks. She still had been unsuccessful in talking to her father, or her mother, or the rest of her family for that matter. _Stupid secretary. _

All the guys she had denied going to the dance with decided to get some sort of revenge on her by hating her and spreading all sorts of rumors about her, like she had been really mean and just ripped them to shreds, which wasn't true, except for this one guy.

He was just really obnoxious and annoying and he snorted a lot (no offence to people who snort, especially my friend who's name I will not mention) so she called him a looser with no life at all and he should just go soak his head in a giant tub of cement because she didn't care about his existence at all. Which was probably about the worst thing she could do because now those rumors weren't rumors, they were in fact, fact, well, the one was, and they could now honestly say that she ripped one guy's heart to shreds. Jamie, that was his name, was hibernating in his dorm room in a dark corner, refusing to talk to anyone or come out.

_I have destroyed the life- well, what life he had- of another…I'm a despicable person. _She thought to herself as Crowler ended his lesson. She slowly stood up as he gave an announcement.

"Remember, today is the last day to buy tickets for the dance, the stand closes at eight pm sharp." Kuronu moped out of the room.

_Why does everyone feel the need to remind me that I don't have a date for the dance, and I probably won't?_ She glanced over and saw Rose Hawthorn, giving her an evil smirk. Rose now hated Kuronu, and was always finding ways to make her look bad, just as Kuronu has done to her. And the perfect way to do that was to go to the dance with Zane, though Rose was having a lot of trouble with that.

"Hey Kuronu," Alexis said as she ran up to her. Kuronu wasn't supposed to hang out with anyone who had a spirit, Alexis, or anyone outside of Obelisk, everyone else, but they talked in the halls a lot. Kuronu weakly smiled at her. "Still don't have a date for the dance?" Kuronu shook her head no. "Me neither."

"You don't?" Kuronu asked, slightly shocked.

"Lot's of guys asked me, but I didn't want to go with them." The blonde replied.

"Ditto," Kuronu said. "Although I highly doubt that the guys you rejected send you hate mail." Alexis blinked.

"What?" They then passed a group of guys talking, and over heard their conversation.

"Yah, I guess it's true that they say," One guy began. "Kids do have the attitudes of their parents."

"I guess that's why that Kaiba girl is such a jerk and Sakura Moto is such an angel." They all laughed.

"Wow," Alexis muttered as they walked passed.

"Yah I'm used to it." Kuronu said casually.

"What, being called a jerk or being called a jerk and being compared to 'Sakura the angel'?"

"Yes," Kuronu replied. Alexis blinked. "Both." Kuronu explained as she walked outside. She sighed. "I wish that I could hang out with at least Syrus, he said he'd take me to the dance if he could."

"I wish Jaden would get over his 'going to the dance with the guys and hanging out' idea." Alexis muttered. Kuronu stared at her. "What?"

You want to go with Jaden?" Kuronu exclaimed, a huge smile spreading across her face. Alexis blushed.

"I- I never said that." Kuronu laughed.

"I knew it, I knew you liked him." Alexis motioned for the brown haired girl to shut up as several people looked at them.

"Kuronu, shut up, people will hear, and then this rumor about me liking Jaden will spread all over the school, and I don't like him!" She hissed. Kuronu smirked at her.

"Come on, you know you like him, what about that kiss on Christmas?" Alexis glared at her.

"That was your fault."

Kuronu's smile disappeared. "So?" She finally asked. Alexis rolled her eyes.

"I don't like Jaden like 'that' only as a friend…his whole idea thing just…annoys me that all, I mean, what is it with guys and not wanting to get a date for a dance?"

"They're guys?" Kuronu replied.

"Good point." Alexis agreed. They looked up to see Rose standing in front of them, arms crossed, an evil scowl on her face.

"Kaiba, Rhodes," She said as she looked at the two.

"Hawthorn," The two said in unison as they glared at the red head. The three glared at each other for several minuets. People walked passed nervously.

"Oh man, it's a staring contest between that Kaiba girl, Alexis Rhodes vs. Rose Hawthorn." Someone commented. Kuronu rolled her eyes.

"My name is Kuronu!" She shouted at them. She then went back to glaring at Rose.

Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley looked at the scene. "Wow, they really hate that Hawthorn girl." Jaden said. Syrus and Chumley nodded. The threesome slowly approached the girls.

"Hey Lex, Kuronu," Jaden said cautiously.

"Jaden," The two girls said, again, in unison without even looking at him.

"What's going on?" Syrus asked.

"Nothing," Rose said. She raised her hand without moving her eyes and snapped her fingers. Daisy and Chrysanthemum quickly ran over to her. "It's time to go." She said to them, and then walked away. Kuronu and Alexis glared at her as she walked to the obelisk dorms.

"I hate that girl so much." Alexis said. Kuronu nodded.

"Well, sorry to interrupt your girl arguments," Jaden began. "But uh…what's up?"

"Not much," Alexis said, slightly mad at Jaden for not asking her to the dance.

"Get a date for the dance yet?" Syrus asked.

"No," Kuronu and Alexis replied.

"Me neither." Syrus said. The three dateless friends sighed.

"But Sy, we weren't getting dates, remember?" Jaden reminded him. Syrus looked up at him.

"You just made that idea up to make us feel better because you knew that we wouldn't get dates!"

"That's not true; if you really want a date, go ask someone." Jaden told him. Syrus looked around. He saw a girl with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He quickly ran up to her, she was several inches taller than him.

The others watched. They saw his mouth move, he was probably asking her, then they saw the girl break out into hysterical laughter and walk away. Syrus moped back over to them. "She said I was too short." He explained.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later that day Kuronu walked out to the lighthouse. She wasn't really supposed to be there, but she didn't care. It was after dinner, though she didn't really eat, almost eight o'clock in fact.

"Oh well," She said aloud. "It's ok that I didn't get a date…I guess…" She then heard footsteps.

"What are you doing out her?" She heard someone ask. She looked up and saw Zane. Kuronu slightly blushed as she looked back out at the water. "I thought you weren't aloud here, and it's almost your curfew."

Kuronu stuck her tongue out. "Curfew, smerfew. I wanted to get away for a bit." She replied. Zane sat down next to her; a weird look was on his face.

"I've been looking for you for a while," He finally said. Kuronu glanced up at him. "I heard you didn't get a date." Kuronu looked back out over the water. "And that pretty much every guy here hates you now."

"Yup, that's pretty much it." She sighed. Zane bit his lip, trying to find just the right words.

"Then maybe you'd like to go with me?" Kuronu's eyes widened, she wanted to look at him, but her head wouldn't move.

"I thought you weren't going." She said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him shrug.

"I can change my mind, can't I?"

"Your not asking me just because you feel sorry for me, are you?" She asked, her neck now allowing her to look at him. Zane almost glared at her.

"I don't do stuff for people because I feel sorry for them, mostly because I don't feel sorry for people that often." He told her. She giggled. "I'm asking you to the dance because I want to go to the dance with you." Kuronu blushed. She looked up at him; a look was on his face that she had never seen on him before.

It was…passionate looking. Kuronu slowly nodded, then smiled and nodded again. "I'd really like to go to the dance with you." She finally said. Zane smiled.

"Great," He said. He then looked at his watch. "It's 7:57." He said. Kuronu blinked, then realized what was wrong.

"ACK!" She screeched. "The tickets! We need tickets!"

"Your curfew," Zane reminded her as he stood up.

"Ew, my curfew," She groaned. She then remembered that Fonda Fontain came to make sure she was in her room by eight o'clock. "Ack, my curfew!" The two ran towards their destinations. Kuronu ran down to the obelisk dorms, and Zane to the main building.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" She called as she waved to him. He waved back. Kuronu found the tree that was outside her balcony and quickly climbed up it.

She ran through the doors and plopped onto her bed. Right on time Miss Fontain knocked on her door and opened it. The woman smiled at her.

"Ok, remember, lights out at eight thirty, I'll be back to make sure of it." Kuronu forced herself to smile as she nodded. Once the door was closed she grabbed her cell phone and called Alexis. _I hope Zane bought the tickets._

"Hello?" Said Alexis.

"Zane asked me to the dance!!!!!!!!!!" Kuronu exclaimed. Alexis screamed as Kuronu screamed.

"Tell me all about it." The blonde said.

XXXXXXXX

Zane ran into the card shop and up to Miss Dorothy. "Two tickets to the dance please." He said, slightly out of breath.

"Your just in time, I was about to close." She said as she pulled out two tickets. "Who are you going with?" She asked, winking at him.

Rose walked into the card shop, grumbling. "Guess I'll just have to find a date once I'm there." She grumbled. She then saw Zane, buying not one ticket, but two. She gasped. She tried to look casual as he appeared to walk over to her. She couldn't take it anymore. "Oh Zane, you really should have asked me before buying the tickets." She said. Zane raised both his eyebrows as he looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. Rose blinked.

"T-that other ticket, who's it for?"

"Kuronu," He replied. Rose's jaw dropped as Zane walked away. She then clenched her fists as fire formed in her eyes.

"Kuronu," She muttered murdously.

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Authoresses note: Ok, I'll end it there. Please review, no harsh flames, and since I probably won't update till after Christmas, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.


	38. the valentine's dance

Authoresses note: Okie dokie, thanks guys so much for reviewing, they made me so very, very happy, and I shall cherish them all forever. Any who, I hope everyone had a fantabulous Christmas, mine was exceptional. Ok, now onto the chapter.

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Chapter 38: The valentine's dance.

Kuronu quickly combed her hair, making sure all the knots were out, it looked decent. She then made sure that there were no balls of lint on her clothes. It was the night of the dance, and she was wearing a pair of black dress pants with a dark red shirt that cut across the shoulders. The gold chained necklace with the emerald hanging from it from Zane rested around her neck. Her bangs were weirdly placed over her forehead.

_FLASH BACK_

_**7:00 A.M, Kuronu's dorm room**_

_Kuronu looked into her bathroom mirror as she picked up her hair brush. As she combed her long, brown hair, something caught her eye. There, right above the bridge of her knows, was a giant red pimple. Kuronu stared at her reflection. She then let out a very loud, piercing scream._

_**Alexis's room**_

_Alexis brushed her hair behind her shoulders. She then heard from not too far away a scream; she then saw a flock of birds fly past her window. She blinked._

"_Ok," She said._

_**Zane's room**_

_Zane had just completed brushing his teeth when he heard a rather faint scream and flock of birds then flew quickly past his window._

"_What the heck was that?" He asked himself aloud._

_**Outside Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley's dorm room.**_

_Jaden stretched his arms as he breathed in the fresh morning air. He then heard and extremely faint scream…or was it, it was really far away and faint. A huge flock of birds than flew right into the slifers. Syrus spit out a feather as he and his companions stood up._

"_That was random," Syrus commented._

_END FLASH BACK_

The make up didn't have much effect on the colossal zit. Kuronu sighed. "Why did I have to get a zit the size of an elephant today?" She figured her bangs so that it covered the red dot up. She took in a deep breath, and then let it out.

"Relax," She said to herself as she walked towards her door. "I'm going to dance with Zane, and can't worry about it, just stay calm, he won't care." As she placed her hand on the door knob the knot in her stomach became even larger. She groaned and dashed under her bed and sat there for several minuets.

"I'm going to die," She muttered. She then heard a knock on the door.

"Kuronu," She heard Alexis say. "Hurry up; do you want to keep Zane waiting?"

"I heard he looks EXTRA fine tonight!" Mindy called. Kuronu groaned.

_Perfect, while he looks positively perfect, I have an enormous zit in the middle of my forehead. _

The door opened. "Kuronu?" Alexis asked as she looked around. Kuronu sighed as she slowly began to climb out from under her bed.

"What are you doing?" Jasmine asked. Alexis was wearing a short pink sleeveless turtle neck dress that went down to about her knees. Mindy was wearing a long light blue spaghetti strap dress, and Jasmine had a long purple dress.

"I'm dieing." She replied.

"Why?" The three girls asked in unison. Kuronu moved away the lock of hair that covered her forehead, revealing the zit to her friends. They all gasped and jumped back two feet.

"Oh my gosh, it's disgusting!!" Mindy shrieked. Alexis elbowed her. "I mean," She began quickly. "It's not SO bad…I guess…"

"What do I do?" Kuronu asked.

"First off, you have to change your clothes," Alexis told her. "You can't go to a dance wearing pants." Kuronu stood up and looked at her outfit. Mindy grabbed her hand and led her out the door.

"Come on, we're going to make you look so good, Zane will be drooling over you." She said. Kuronu cringed.

An image of massive amounts of drool falling from Zane's mouth popped into her head. "Ew!" She shrieked. "That is nasty." The other girls snickered.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jaden put his hands behind his head as he, Syrus, Chumley, and Chazz walked to the main building. Jaden had on a pair of black dress pants with a red shirt and a black jacket.

Syrus had on a pair of black dress pants and a light pink, short sleeved shirt. Chumley was wearing the same as Syrus plus a yellow and red polka dot bow tie.

Chazz had on pretty much the same thing he always wore, except he had on now a dark purple dress shirt and a black and silver tie, and his normal long black trench coat was exchanged for a normal length black jacket.

The four boys walked to the main building where they saw Zane waiting by the door. He had on black dress pants, and dark red shirt and a black jacket on top.

"Hey Zane," Syrus said as he greeted his older brother. "Waiting for Kuronu?"

"Yah," He replied.

_I still can't believe big bro asked Kuronu, _Syrus thought to himself. _Though has been acting different around her. Normally he's rather cold, and stoic, but when he's with her, he seems nicer, and smiles more, warm smiles. _

"She's kinda late though, isn't she?" Chazz asked, interrupting Syrus' thoughts. Zane shrugged.

"Well, we'll see you later then." As Jaden said this, Mindy ran over to them.

"Zane," She began, quite out of breath. "Kuronu is going to be a bit late, so she told me to tell you not wait outside for her. She then turned around and ran back to the obelisk dorms.

As she ran she saw Rose and slowed her pace to a casual walk. As Rose passed she could hear some of what she was saying.

"I WILL dance with Zane tonight, even if I have to take him from that Kaiba girl by force." As Rose passed Mindy she cast her an evil smirk. Mindy glared at Rose. Once she was a ways away from her, she set off running.

"Well, you heard her," Jaden said to Zane. "Let's go."

"I'm still going to wait for her." Zane told him. He then heard his name being called.

"Zane!! Hi, how are you!!?" Rose called as she waved to him. Zane cringed.

"Then again," He began as he followed the others inside.

XXXXXXX

Mindy burst through the door panting. "Rose is going to try to steal Zane from you." She said as the others looked at her.

"What?!" Kuronu exclaimed as she stood up. Alexis pulled her back down onto the bed.

"Watch it; do you want me to burn you?" Alexis said as she held the curling iron by her face. Kuronu shook her head no. "Then sit still."

"But if I'm not there," Kuronu protested.

"Relax, it'll be fine." The blonde reassured her.

"Ah-ha!" Jasmine exclaimed as she pulled a long red dress out from Kuronu's closet. "Do you not think this would look good on her?" She held up the dress for the others to see.

"It's perfect." Alexis agreed.

"Oh yah, I forgot about that." Kuronu commented. The other three sighed.

"Come on, let's finish your hair, and then take care of that mount zit." Said Alexis. Kuronu groaned.

"Could you please not call it that?"

"Sorry."

XXXXXXX

The room where the dance was had all sorts of weird colored lights up. A stage was set up where a girl and boy were singing. Tables were set up around the room with one long one by the wall with food and punch. People were dancing all around the room, except for in the middle, where the duel platform was raised and two people were dueling.

"Sweet there's dueling!" Jaden exclaimed. "Good thing I always bring my deck with me." Syrus rolled his eyes.

Zane looked behind him and saw Rose pushing her way through the crowed. She was looking around. Zane cringed as he quickly walked away from her. "Where you going big bro?" Syrus called after him. He then saw Rose. "Oh, that's where."

Several minuets had passed. All the guys were sitting at a table by the back when Bastion came up to them. He had on a suit and tie with a yellow shirt on. "There you are," He said. "Mind if I join you?"

"Hey Bastion," Jaden greeted. Bastion then looked at Zane.

"I thought you had a date." He asked.

"I do." The obelisk responded.

"Then why are you hanging out with the dateless club?"

"Because Kuronu's going to be late." Syrus replied.

"So she isn't here?" They heard a girl say. They all turned around and, to their horror, saw Rose. She walked over to Zane and took both his hands. "Then you won't mind dancing with me for a while?"

"Uh," Was all Zane could say.

"Actually," They then heard someone say. "I'd kind of like to dance with him, since he asked me and all." Kuronu smiled at them all. Rose gritted her teeth. Her grip on Zane's hands tightened.

"I was here first." She hissed back. Zane stood and walked passed Rose over to Kuronu. He smiled down at her.

"You look amazing." He told her. Kuronu blushed. Her hair was down and wavy. She had on a long dark red dress with spaghetti straps.

"Really to look great you." She replied. Everyone looked at her weirdly as her face turned even redder. "I mean, great you look to really." She said quickly. She covered her mouth. Zane chuckled.

"Thanks," He said. "You wanna dance?" He asked her. Kuronu nodded. "Oh, but first," she pulled out a small box from a purse she was carrying. "Here. It's not much, but," Zane took the box.

"Chocolates." He commented.

"You got him stupid chocolates?" Rose asked, trying to seem like she was trying not to laugh.

"Hey, stupid gourmet chocolates!" Alexis corrected.

Zane put the box on the table and then took her hand and let her out to the dance floor. Kuronu threw her purse over to Alexis.

Rose clenched her fists as she glared at Kuronu. She then stormed off. Alexis smiled at the two.

The song that was previously playing soon ended as another began. The girl stepped up to the microphone and began to sing. Kuronu began to dance a little as the music played.

"**You're the kind of friend who always bends when I'm broken  
Like remember when  
You took my heart and put it back together again" **

Kuronu smiled at Zane as he smiled at her as they both danced to the rhythm of the song.

"**I've been wasting time with clueless guys  
But now it's over  
Let me tell you why  
I'm through  
I've meet someone new  
Who's just like you"**

Kuronu raised her arms in the air and danced around Zane.

"**You're it  
You're the ultimate  
It's automatic.  
I'm sure of it  
No lie" **Zane took her hand and twirled her under his arm.

"**So don't even try  
To tell me that you're not the guy  
Cuz I've been waiting all my life  
For someone just like you  
But you're it  
You're the ultimate, you"**

Alexis leaned against the wall as she watched all the people dance, wishing that she had a date. Jaden noticed this and bit his lip as he stood up. He stretched his arms and walked over her, scratching the back of his head. "You uh," He began. "Wanna dance?" He asked. Alexis smiled at him as she nodded.

"Yah, I'd really like that." She replied as Jaden took her hand and led her out to the dance floor. The two then began to dance, glancing at each other awkwardly.

"**You're the kind of guy who's hands and mind send shivers up and down my spine  
You took my heart and put it back together again." **

Kuronu could feel her face turn slightly red as Zane smiled at her. _I can't believe I'm actually dancing with him._ She thought to herself.

"**You're the kind of guy that blows my mind  
But now it's my turn  
You've been right in front of me  
Everything I need  
Why didn't I see"**

Alexis and Jaden began to grow more comfortable with the situation as the music went on.

"**You're it  
You're the ultimate  
It's Automatic.  
I'm sure of it  
No lie  
So don't even try  
To tell me that you're not the guy  
Cuz I've been waiting all my life  
For someone just like you  
But you're it  
You're the ultimate, you"**

As the guitar played, Kuronu spun around; the heel of her shoe caught onto her other heel. As she fell forward towards the ground, she thought to herself:_ I knew I shouldn't have worn heels this high. _Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Rose was standing a ways off, watching. As she saw Kuronu fall forward, a smirk crossed her face. _What an idiot, tripping over her own two feet._

As Kuronu fell, Zane grabbed her hand and spun her over so she was now looking up. He then put his other hand on her back. He smiled down at her as she stared up at him, her face red.

"**You're it  
You're the ultimate  
It's automatic  
I'm sure of it  
No lie  
So don't even try  
To tell me that you're not the guy  
Cuz I've been waiting all my life  
For someone just like you  
But you're it  
You're the ultimate, you"**

He then pulled her up. "You ok?" He asked. She nodded, brushing a lock of her wavy hair behind her ear.

"**You're it  
You're the ultimate, you..."**

Rose gritted her teeth. "That's it, time to take drastic action." She turned on her three inch heel and walked to the duel arena.

Jaden and Alexis stopped dancing and smiled at each other. "That was really fun, thanks." She said. Jaden nodded. A slow song then began to play.

"**What day is it  
and in what month" **The boy sang.

Kuronu looked at Zane as he looked at her. He then took her right hand in his and put her left hand on his left shoulder as he put his left hand on her hip. Jaden and Alexis did the same.

"**This clock never seemed so alive  
I can't keep up  
and I can't back down  
I've been losing so much time**

**cause it's you and me and all of the people  
with nothing to do  
nothing to lose  
and it's you and me and all of the people  
and I don't know why  
I can't keep my eyes off of you **

all of the things that I want to say  
just aren't coming out right  
I'm tripping inwards  
you got my head spinning  
I don't know where to go from here

cause it's you and me and all of the people  
with nothing to do  
nothing to prove  
and it's you and me and all of the people  
and I don't know why  
I can't keep my eyes off of you

there's something about you now  
I can't quite figure out  
everything she does is beautiful  
everything she does is right

you and me and all of the people  
with nothing to do  
nothing to lose  
and it's you and me and all of the people  
and I don't know why  
I can't keep my eyes off of you

you and me and all of the people  
with nothing to do  
nothing to prove  
and it's you and me and all of the people  
and I don't know why  
I can't keep my eyes off of you

what day is it  
and in what month  
this clock never seemed so alive."

Jaden and Alexis back away from each other. Alexis blushed as she placed a lock oh her hair behind her ear. "Well, thanks for dancing with me." She said. "You really didn't have to," She said as she walked away. Jaden reach out and grabbed her wrist.

"I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want to." He told her. The two stared at each other for a moment. Something about Jaden's voice seemed more…mature, older, serious.

He then let go of her wrist and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, not sure where that came from." They both blushed and chuckled.

Kuronu rubbed her arm as her face was red. A man than tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me, are you Kuronu Kaiba?" He asked. She nodded. The man then looked at a clip bored. "Well it's your turn to duel." He told her.

"Duel? I never signed up to duel." She told him.

"Well, you're Kuronu Kaiba right?" He asked. She nodded. "Your name's on the list and it's your turn." He told her. He then walked away.

"But I didn't," She began. She then saw who was on the duel platform, waiting for her. "Rose," She muttered. She ran back to the table.

"You guys done dancing already?" Syrus asked as Kuronu dug through her purse. She then pulled out her deck.

"Apparently Rose signed me up to duel." She explained. Alexis glared at the red head. "So if you'll excuse me, I have a duel to win." Alexis grabbed her arm.

"Careful, she's really good." The blonde told her.

"So is my dad, and he's the one who taught me how to duel." Kuronu replied. Everyone walked over to the duel arena. She got up onto the platform as it rose into the air. Rose then picked up a microphone.

"May I have everyone's attention," She said. The music stopped playing as they all looked at Rose. "Thank you. I'm about to begin my duel with Miss Kaiba," Several people muttered about it 'going to be a good duel'. "But it's not a normal duel, oh no, in this one, there's stakes."

"What kind of stakes?" Kuronu asked.

"If you win the duel, everything goes on as normal," Rose began. "But if you lose, more importantly, if I win," Kuronu glared at Rose. "You can't dance with Zane for the remainder of the night and you can't talk with him for twenty four hours." Some people gasped at this.

"What?!" Kuronu exclaimed. "I'm not gonna duel for Zane!"

"What a coward." Rose commented. "Fine, then you forfeit and I get him regardless."

"No!"

"Those are the stakes, take it or leave it." Kuronu gritted her teeth.

"It's ok Kuronu," Zane called to her. "I trust you."

"Whoop her snobby butt!" Jaden called. Kuronu nodded as a duel disk was handed to her. She placed her deck in it and activated her duel disk as Rose did the same.

"Crowler, get over here!" The chancellor called as he stood by the arena.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You are going to want to see this duel. The top female student against a Kaiba! And what's better is it's all over a boy!"

"A boy?" Crowler good barely stand the excitement, not.

"Yes, but not just any boy, Zane Truesdale!" Now Shepard had his attention.

"Oh your right, this will be good!"

"Duel!" the two girls both said.

Kuronu's LP: 4000

Rose's LP: 4000

"My draw!" Rose said as she drew her card. "I place Giant Rat in defense mode (1400/1450) and place two cards face down.

A bright light glowed on her side of the field as a giant blue rat appeared. It held a skull in its left hand as it sat on its card. Its huge yellow eyes glared at Kuronu, giving her the creeps. Two cards then appeared face down behind Giant Rat. "And I'll end my turn." She said, smirking.

"That's it? Fine then." Kuronu said as she drew her card. "I play luster dragon in attack mode!"(1900/1600)

A beautiful dragon appeared on her side of the field in attack mode. The lights from the ceiling shone down on the dragon making it sparkle beautifully. "Then I place two cards face down and end my turn." Two cards appeared behind the gorgeous dragon.

"Is that the best you can do? And I though Kaiba's were supposed to be the best!" Rose shouted drawing her card. She looked at her card and then smirked. "I sacrifice my giant rat to summon Criosphinx in attack mode!" (1200/2400)

A large blue skinned monster with a tan horse-like body appeared in as the Giant Rat disappeared. From its horse body a pair of wings emerged with light green feathers. Its tail swept back and forth as it had a small flame on the end. The beast stared at Kuronu and gave a vicious roar. The Luster Dragon roared back un-phased at this great beast.

"How is that thing supposed to take on my dragon?" Kuronu said confused.

"You'll see." Rose replied with a smirk

"Whatever, my draw!" Kuronu said drawing her card. "Luster dragon, take out the hideous…thing!" She then pointed at the sphinx.

Luster Dragon flapped its wings as it rose into the sky. It then opened its mouth as a beautiful beam of rainbow colors emerged from it. The beam flew through the air towards Criosphinx.

"Not so fast!" Rose yelled as a trap card revealed itself. "I activate ordeal of a traveler!"

"What?" Kuronu asked as the attack was put on pause.

"You can activate this card's effect when your opponent attacks. Your opponent randomly selects 1 card in your hand and calls the type of the card (Monster, Magic, or Trap). If your opponent calls it wrong, the attacking monster is returned to its owner's hand." Rose explained as she held out her cards.

"Fine then," She scanned the cards, and then pointed at the middle one. "The middle one!"

Rose moved her cards away so the only card Kuronu could see was the one she picked. Kuronu studied the card.

"Spell!" Kuronu announced.

Rose smiled fiercely. "Oh, too bad, it's a trap card."

At this Kuronu's dragon turned into light and her card reappeared in her hand.

"Now, about my criosphinx," Rose began. "As long as this card remains face-up on my side of the field, when a monster is returned from the field to the owner's hand, the owner of the returned monster selects and sends 1 card in his/her hand to the Graveyard." Rose said pointing to her sphinx as it started to glow.

Kuronu then shuffled the cards in her hand. She then picked one and sent it to the grave yard.

"Fine, I'll put this face down and end my turn." Kuronu said as she placed one card face down.

"Whatever!" Rose said while drawing her card.

"I sacrifice my Criosphinx in order to summon Exxod, Master of the Guard!" Rose said as Criosphinx then disappeared in a ball of light.

An earthquake filled the room as a huge monster rose up from behind Rose. A monster almost identical to Exodia appeared. The only difference was it has what looked like a solar ring behind it with beautiful purple gems in it. (ATK: 0 DEF: 4000)

"But, it has zero attack points!" Kuronu asked confused.

"Your point?" Rose replied.

"My point is this!" Kuronu said as her face down card revealed itself. "I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back my luster dragon!" The dragon appeared on the field, shimmering.

"That's exactly what I wanted you to do!" Rose said as she held out her card. "I activate shield a sword!"

Exxod gave a low rumble as its attack points went up. (ATK: 4000) Mirage Dragon sank down a little as its attack points went lower. (ATK: 1600)

"Exxod, destroy that pathetic dragon!!" Rose yelled as she thrust a finger towards Kuronu's dragon. Exxod gathered energy in its hands and a huge beam of power shot out to Mirage Dragon and obliterated it. Kuronu flew backwards and slammed on her back as smoke cleared from the field.

Rose LP:4000

Kuronu's LP:1600

"Now then, I activate security guard! By paying 1000 life points you can switch all your monsters into defense mode at the end of your turn. Rose said smirking as she held out a card."

Rose's LP:3000

Kuronu's: 1600

At this Exxod put its arms out in front of it as it bended a knee into defense mode. (ATK: 0, DEF: 4000)

"I'll put this face down and end my turn." Rose said as one card went face down on the field.

_I'd better think of a plan before she wipes out what's left of my life points. _Kuronu thought as she picked herself up slowly.

She then looked over at Zane who gave her a soft smile and a nod. She smiled back at him and nodded back.

"Ok, my turn!"Kuronu yelled at Rose as she drew her card. "I activate monster reborn to bring back my red eyes black chick!"

A small dragon appeared on the field in a shell. It gave a small shriek as it looked up at Exxod. (ATK: 800, DEF: 500)

"Don't worry, it'll be ok." Kuronu said reassuring it.

Rose laughed. "Wow, how pathetic, she's talking to a card!"

Kuronu glared at her. "We'll see how pathetic it is after I sacrifice my chick to summon my red eyes black dragon!!"

Red eyes black Chick then turned into a ball of light as it flew up into the air. It then grew into the mighty Red Eyes Black Dragon. It gave a loud roar as it hovered in the air. (ATK: 2400, DEF: 2000)

"It's not THAT impressive, and it doesn't change the fact that you were talking to that puny one." Rose said as she folded her arms.

"Oh yah," Kuronu yelled as she held a card out. "I activate polymerization to fuse the red eyes that I have on the field and the two red eyes in my hand to form the Red Eyes Ultimate Dragon!!"

At this two more Red Eyes appeared on the field. They then flew up in a swirl. As they reappeared Red Eyes Ultimate Dragon took the field. All three heads thundered at Rose which made her step back a ways at the sheer sight of them. (ATK: 4000, DEF: 3500)

"W- what the heck is that thing!?" Rose stuttered.

"My best card. And I'm the only one in the world who has one." Kuronu said smirking. A spell card then revealed it's self on the field. "I now play heavy storm!"

A huge wind swept over the field as all spell and trap cards where destroyed.

"Now, I play axe of despair on my dragon!" Kuronu said as she held out a card.

The dragons roared as they glowed red with power. (ATK: 5000)

"F- five thousand attack points?!" Rose said shocked

"Red eyes, obliterate that exodia wanna be!"Kuronu said pointing at Exxod.

At this balls of fire formed in all the mouths. They then shot them off in a huge roar. The balls of fire slammed into Exxod as the monster turned into stone and then crumbled away.

"You'll pay for that!" Rose screamed at her as she drew her card. As she looked at her card and began to laugh evilly.

"You wanna share the joke?"Kuronu asked as Red Eyes Ultimate Dragon came down behind her.

"Oh Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba…Kaiba," A huge sweat drop rolled down Kuronu's head as the girl continued to state her last name. "Poor, poor Kaiba. Did you actually think you could beat me?" Rose said smiling manically at Kuronu. She then held out her card. "I activate brain control!"

"Brain control?!" Kuronu said shocked

Rose:2200

Kuronu: 1600

Rose laughed manically as Kuronu's best monster flew over behind Rose.

"I must say, it does feel nice to control the power." Rose said. She then pointed a finger directly at Kuronu who was wide open. "Red eyes destroy your former master!"

Balls of fire once again appeared in the dragons mouths. Kuronu desperately tried to come up with a way to stop them, but noting came to mind. The dragons let off their balls of power. They flew over to Kuronu and merged together to form one huge ball of power. It slammed into Kuronu and sent her flying backwards. As she flew back, she heard a faint shattering noise and pain coming from her neck. She opened and eye and saw shards of green flying around her. One of the shards cut her cheek. She sailed back until she landed on the edge of the platform.

Rose: 2200

Kuronu: 0

The monsters then disappeared as the duel finished.

Everything was silent for a while. No one was quite sure of what to say. Finally, Jaden broke the silence. "Kuronu!!" He shouted. Kuronu slowly got up so that her legs were no under her. She opened her eyes and stared at the green emerald shards. Her right hand immediately went to her necklace. The emerald that once hung from the gold band was now lying in shattered pieces on the floor.

Kuronu looked up as she saw a shadow come over her. Rose's arms were crossed as she smirked down at her. "My, how the mighty have fallen." She taunted. "And here I thought you were supposed to be an exceptional duelist, guess I over estimated you." She began to walk away, but then stopped.

"Oh, you do realize that you didn't inflict a single point of damage to me don't you? I only lost life points because I activated cards that required me to give some up, so don't going around thinking 'at least I gother down to 2200 life points,' because you didn't!" People began to murmur things as the platform slowly went down.

"Yah, Rose is right, we did over estimate her." Some whispered.

"Yah, she's no where near as great as people think she is."

"That's right," Rose continued. "You're a disgrace to your family. You couldn't even think ahead enough that I would have a card that could take control of your monster, you weren't smart enough to set a trap to stop me from taking your pathetic dragon!"

Kuronu stared blankly at the emerald shards. Red eyes black chick appeared next to her and squawked, trying to comfort her.

"That's right, sit there and drown in your misery, because you failed your family, you failed yourself, and you failed Zane." Kuronu slowly began to look up as reality began to sink in. "He trusted you, and what did you do for him? Nothing! You lost miserably, and you," She suddenly stopped talking as Zane grabbed her wrist.

"You wanted to dance with me, right?" Rose stared at him for a moment, and then hearts filled her eyes.

"Oh, Zany, I knew you'd finally come to your senses!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, and then cast Kuronu an evil glare. "And don't you look so much more handsome when you're not with that heinous Kaiba girl, I mean," Zane then pulled her away in mid sentence. Jaden and the others ran over to where Kuronu sat.

"Kuronu, are you ok?" Jaden asked worriedly.

"I…I guess…" she replied. "But she's right. Zane, he trusted me, and I,"

"Forget what Rose said." Alexis told her. "She's just messing with your head. You tried your best, and nothing else matters. Trust me; Zane isn't going to hold this lost against you." The music then began to play again. Kuronu looked over where Zane and Rose were.

"I guess,"

"Hey you," The man from earlier said to them. "You need to get off the arena, another duel is about start."

"Sorry, we were just leaving." Jaden told him.

Kuronu gathered up the shards in her hands and followed the other to where they were sitting before. "I feel really bad that the necklace broke." She said as she laid the green shards on the table.

"Don't worry; Zane's got plenty of money." Syrus told her. "I mean, it's not like you the only person at this school who's rich."

"Who, you guys are rich too?" Jaden exclaimed. Syrus shrugged.

"Well, kinda."

"You mean you have a big house and everything?" Chumley pressed.

"Yah, but no where near as big as Kuronu's house. My dad works for a pretty big gaming company and stuff."

"Wow, that's neat." Jaden commented.

As a slow song began to play, Rose but Zane's hands around her waist, she then put her arms around his neck. "Isn't this much nicer than dancing with that klutzy Kuronu?" She asked him.

"No," He replied bluntly. Rose gritted her teeth. Zane stared over at where Kuronu was sitting. _I hope she's not being too hard on herself. _He thought. Rose noticed that Zane was looking at Kuronu.

"Turn around, I don't like staring at the wall, and stop staring at other people and look me, I am your dance partner for the rest of the night!" She commanded.

_Oh joy,_ He thought to himself as he turned around. _This has to be the worst dance ever. And why the heck is she scratching my neck? What's she trying to do? Dig a whole?_ "Could you stop that, your finger nails are disgustingly long."

"Why are you so grumpy?" She asked, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"Because I don't want to dance with you." He replied. She glared at Kuronu.

_This is all her fault!_ She thought to herself. Just then, the song ended and Zane removed the red heads arms from his neck. "W- What are you doing?" She asked.

"We agreed that I could dance with Kuronu for the remainder of the night, or talk to her for twenty four hours, you never said anything about me having to dance with you." He explained.

"What?!" She exclaimed. "But when I said you couldn't dance with her, I kinda meant-"

"Well, you didn't say it. Now, if you'll excuse, I want to have some chocolate, and then I'm going to bed." He then began to walk away.

"You can't do this to me! Don't you know who I am?" The obelisk completely ignored her. "GET BACK HER!!!" She screeched so loud, that several people looked at her.

Jaden and the others looked over when they heard Rose's horrible shrieks, and Zane walking away from her, a smirk was on his face.

"Zane, what did you do?" Syrus asked as he approached them.

"I never promised to dance with her." He simply explained. He gave a small smile to Kuronu. She slightly blushed and looked away. "I just came to get my chocolate, then I'm going to bed."

"But it's only 9 p.m." Alexis told him. He shrugged.

"I have nothing else to do."

"Hey, what's wrong with Rose," Syrus wondered. "Her face is turning weird colors, and I know it's not the lights."

"That's weird." Jaden agreed.

"This is bad," Zane said bluntly, an emotionless expression on his face. "Everybody run." And with that, he ran off.

"Ooookkk." Alexis said.

"Her face is turning weird colors, what's the worst that could happen?" Jaden wondered.

XXXXXXXX

An air plane flew across the night sky. Not an important air plane in the least. A man looked out his window. He saw an island with a couple buildings and some lights.

"I think that's a school down there." A woman next to him said. Suddenly, a huge fume of smoke shot up into the sky like an explosion, loud bang and all.

"Hm, must do some weird stuff at that school."

XXXXXXXX

Many people had been blown out side; Jaden and co. Ash was all over their faces. Jaden and Chumley stared at the building awe struck.

"Who," Was all Chumley could say.

"Ditto," Jaden replied.

Syrus, who's head some how got stuck in the ground, unearthed his head. "I think Rose's head exploded." He said. He then noticed that everything was all blurry. "Aw man, I lost my glasses." He then began to dig around in the dirt.

"Darn it, my dress is completely ruined." Mindy complained. "Stupid Rose, why did her head have to explode?" Just then two men passed by carrying a stretcher, Rose was lying on it.

"She doesn't look so good." Kuronu commented. Zane then approached them, completely clean.

"I told you to run away." He said to them.

"Well you could have told us why!" Alexis shouted.

"I take it the dance is over?" Bastion wondered.

"We're done!" The girl that had been singing shouted to Crowler. The girl and boy then stalked off.

"Wait, you can't leave! You promised my three hours of entertainment!"

"I guess." Jaden replied to Bastion.

Shepard walked over to where Crowler was as everyone walked out of the building, groaning and mumbling things. "We still need to announce the king and queen for tonight." He said. "Ah-hem!" He cleared his throat loud enough for everyone to hear. "May I have your attention please: It is time to announce the king and queen for tonight's dance."

People began murmur. Two spotlights appeared from out of nowhere as a drum role began to sound. The two lights fanned over to crowd.

"And the king and queen for tonight's dance are," Shepard began. The lights then stopped on Jaden and Alexis. "Jaden Yuki and Alexis Rhodes." People stared at them blankly as both their faces turned bright red.

"How us?" Alexis exclaimed. "We only danced twice!"

"I'm just reading what was written on this card." Shepard told them as he handed Alexis a bouquet of flowers and both of them a crown.

"We can't accept this." Jaden told him.

Shepard shrugged. "Fine then, you both would have gotten the day off from school tomorrow." Jaden froze.

"Wait, I take it back!"

"We'll just go to second place winners then." Shepard continued. Jaden sighed. Shepard turned and looked directly at Zane and Kuronu. "You two came in second, congrats." He said. Kuronu's face turned bright red while Zane's cheeks turned a bit pink.

"Wait, I don't see how," Kuronu stuttered.

"Just take the prize." Shepard told them. Zane put his crown on his head; he then took Kuronu's crown and gently placed it on her head. Her face turned even redder, if that was possible.

"How do you come up with who becomes king and queen?" Chazz asked skeptically.

"Simple, I watch all the dances and pick which is the cutest couple." Everyone fell over anime style.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Jaden said. "since I have school tomorrow." He glared at the chancellor and sulked away.

"I should go too, by guys." Alexis said. Kuronu, Mindy, and Jasmine followed.

Once Kuronu was in her room she collapsed onto her bed. _I can't believe I got to dance with Zane._ She looked at her silver crown as it sparkled. She smiled as her cheeks turned red. She quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled under her warm covers and soon fell asleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authoresses note: Ok, sorry that was so long. The duel you read about was written by my dear friend and wonderful author, Fire of the Heart, the card 'security guard' is an oc card made up by her. Ok, please review and no harsh flames.


	39. The true heart of a Rose

Authoresses note: Ok, first off, thanks guys so much for reviewing, they make me very happy. Also, I forget to say what the songs were in the last chapter, so here ya go.

"Ultimate" by Lindsay Lohan

"You and Me" by Lifehouse

Ok, um, that's all I can think of right now, so let's get this chapter started.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 39: The true heart of a Rose.

Kuronu ran down the halls of the obelisk blue dorms down to the meal hall. It was February the 16, two days after the dance. She had pretty much spent all of yesterday in her dorm room since she got off from school, and because she wasn't aloud to hang out with her friends, she just stayed in her room. But today was different. She had classes, and was constantly getting mobbed by girls who wanted to know every detail as to how she got to dance with Zane. It got really annoying.

She stopped in front of the large doors as she watched everyone talk to their friends. _Why do I even bother coming down? I mean, I could just get my dinner taken up to my room. I'm eating alone anyways. _Her eyes fell on Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine. She had become really close to them over the span of Christmas vacation, and now she was able to be with them. She sighed.

"Maybe I'll just go back to my dorm." She whispered to herself. As she walked away she heard someone call out to her.

"So there you are." A shiver shot down her spine.

_Oh great._ Kuronu thought as she slowly turned around. There she saw Rose Hawthorn, hands on her hips, and vicious glare on her face.

"I heard you hibernated in your room all day yesterday," She began. "I first I was wondering, 'why would she do a thing like that?' then I remembered, you can't hang out with any of your friends, and because you so utterly lost that duel to me, you can't hang out with your beloved Zane." She cackled.

"Yah, well at least he didn't tell me that he didn't want to dance with me and walk away, leaving me dateless." Kuronu retorted. Rose stopped laughing and glared at the Kaiba.

"That was completely un called for."

"Look, Rose, I'd love to stay and argue with you, but I'm not in the mood, I'll see you tomorrow." She replied, scratching the back of her head as she began to walk away. "Oh yah, glad to see your out the infirmary. We were all worried that you'd have serious brain damage after your head exploded." She cast Rose an evil smirk.

Rose gritted her teeth. "Why you…I'm not letting you get away that easily!" she whispered to herself. She then smirked. "And I know how much you hate mobs surrounding you." She stood up straight and smirked evilly.

"So tell me how you got a date with Zane, you didn't tell anyone else!" Rose shouted. Kuronu froze. Several people looked over.

"That's right, you never told us!" One girl said as she ran over to Kuronu. Before anyone knew what had happened, almost every girl in obelisk blue was asking the same question: How did Kuronu manage to go to the dance with Zane.

"Tell us!"

"Come on, you have to!" They all shouted.

Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine watched the scene from the side. "Hey, isn't Kuronu claustrophobic?" Jasmine asked.

"She does, oh no, how horrible." Rose said as she smirked. The other three glared at her.

"That was low Rose. You knew that Kuronu doesn't like it when that happens." Said Alexis as she glared at the red head.

"Yah, I did know, that's why I did it."

Kuronu crouched down to the floor. _Ok Kuronu, just stay calm. There's only about seventy some girls towering over you, confining you to a small area, you'll be fine. _She took a deep breath. _Hey, that actually works!_ She told herself. She began to crawl her way out of the mob. She soon made it to the edge of the mob, the picked her self up and ran outside as fast as she could. She ran into to someone, but she didn't care, she kept running.

Once outside, she put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "Stupid mobs," She breathed. "can't even notice that I'm gone." She looked up and saw the slifer dorms. Lights were on in the meal hall, indicating that they were also eating dinner. She sighed as she glumly stared at the building.

She then heard someone say her name. "Kuronu?" She looked behind her and saw Zane.

"Z-Zane," She stuttered. She blinked. "Were you the one I ran into?" She asked. He slowly nodded. Kuronu's face turned red. "S-sorry,"

"It's fine. But what are you doing out here? Are you ok?" He walked towards her.

"Yah I'm fine, just got a little crowded in there." She explained. "Stupid Rose," She muttered. Zane chuckled.

"I see," Kuronu stared back at the slifer dorms. "I never got to tell you that I had fun at the dance." He told her. Kuronu turned to look at him.

"I had a great time too." She replied. The two stood there in awkward silence for several moments. "I-I'm sorry that I lost the duel." She finally said. Zane looked at her, surprised. "You trusted me, and I let you down." Zane stepped closer to her and streamed his fingers through her hair.

"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have pressured you so much." He told her. "All yesterday, I couldn't really enjoy myself because I was worried that you'd be feeling like you let me down or something."

"So, you couldn't enjoy yourself…because of me?" She asked. Zane then clutched both of her shoulders.

"N-no! That's not what I meant." He bit his lip as he stared down at Kuronu. "I…I could never feel unhappy when I think of you because when I do think about you," A knot began to form in his stomach. _Why does this happen whenever I think about her a lot? _

Kuronu tilted her head. "'When you think about me' what?" As she said this she could have sworn that she saw his cheeks turn slightly pink.

"Um," he bit his lip. _Why can't I say it? _His grip on her shoulders tightened as he stared into her big, blue eyes. He then looked up and saw the slifer dorms. His right arm dropped to his side and he put his left hand in his pocket, and then turned to the side. "Why don't you go eat with Jaden and the other slifers." Kuronu blinked.

"Huh?" Was all she could say.

"That is what you want, right?" He asked her.

"Y-yah, more than anything, but Crowler…"

"Don't worry about it, I'll cover for you, and I'm sure Alexis will help." He smiled softly at her. Kuronu's eyes sparkled.

"Are you sure it's ok, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

"Don't worry its fine. It's not fair that you have to be alone." He told her. Kuronu slightly bowed, then turned and ran off. As Zane watched her, he saw her shadowed figure trip and fall, followed by an 'ow'. He chuckled at this. He then heard foot steps walking towards him. Alexis right next to his face, smirking.

"Were you blushing?" She asked.

"What? No." Zane replied as he walked away from her. Alexis giggled.

"So, Kuronu makes you feel what?" She inquired.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough, so answer the question."

"I-it's not relevant to the situation,"

"Right, we need to cover for her. Crowler shouldn't really be a problem, it Miss Fontain that we need to worry about, but Mindy, Jasmine and I will figure something out, so don't worry." She began to walk away, but then stopped. "Oh yah, one more thing: You were so totally blushing."

"Why would I be blushing?" Zane asked. Alexis smiled at him.

"Well, when someone is talking to a person they 'like' and they say stuff like that," Zane's whole face turned bright red at this.

"W-what?" Alexis giggled, and then continued inside. It was then that Zane thought of a retort. "You and Jaden seemed to have at the dance." Alexis stopped and looked at the elder obelisk, only to see an evil smirk on his face.

"Don't bring Jaden into this." She told him. "So what if we had fun, we're just friends, nothing more."

"For now," He muttered. Alexis's cheeks turned pink.

"Oh yah, well,"

"Geez," Jasmine said from the door way. Mindy was next to her. "At first I thought that you guys had this 'thing' for each other, but now I see it's more of a brother sister relationship."

"An immature brother sister relationship." Mindy added. "Now are we going to help Kuronu, or not?" Alexis shrugged and followed her friends inside.

"But seriously, you should've seen how his face flared up when I said that he liked her."

"Aw, guys are so cute when they blush."

Zane gritted his teeth as he listened to them talk. "I do not like her." He convinced himself as he followed them inside.

Once he was gone, Rose stepped out from behind a tree. She glared at the slifer dorms. "There is no way I'm going to let that Kaiba girl win. I didn't want to have to do this, but it's time to take drastic measures." She muttered to herself.

XXXXXXX

Jaden picked at his food. Syrus looked at him worriedly. "I hope Jay's ok," He said to Chumley. "He hasn't been eating much."

"I hope Kuronu's ok." Jaden said. "Alexis said she pretty much stayed in her room all day yesterday, and I didn't get a chance to talk with her today." He then sighed.

"I'm sure she's fine." Syrus reassured her. Just then, the door opened. Everyone looked up as they saw a girl in a dark navy obelisk uniform.

"Kuronu!" Jaden exclaimed, standing up. She waved at him.

"I thought I might eat with you guys tonight." She said as she walked over.

"Really? But what about Crowler?" Syrus asked her.

"Pht, I say screw Crowler and all his rules," she said. Jaden then looked over at Chazz who was in the seat next to him.

"Hey Chazz, move over," He said as he pushed him off the chair.

"Ow!" Kuronu snickered as she sat down next to Jaden.

"Oh, dear this is not good." Banner said as he walked over. "Miss Kaiba, you're not supposed to be here."

"Oh please professor Banner," Jaden pleaded. "She's so lonely at the obelisk dorms."

"I promise you won't get in trouble." Kuronu told him. Banner thought about it.

"Oh, alright, but as soon as dinner is over, you go straight back to your dorm."

"Hai!" She replied as a plate was set in front of her.

XXXXXXXX

Rose bushed her way through the thick bushes. "Where is he?" She asked herself.

"Looking for me?" A strange voice asked her. Rose whirled around, only to see some guy in a dress wearing a mask while sitting on a throne.

"You're Abidos?" She asked.

"Who wants to know?" He replied. Rose smirked evilly.

"I have a proposition for you, one that you can't possibly refuse."

XXXXXXX

Kuronu sighed as she finished her food. "Man, sure is great to be back in the slifer dorms."

"Sure is great to have you back." Jaden agreed.

"So, are you going to eat here every night now?" Syrus inquired.

Kuronu sat up straight her chair. "I'm not sure; I'll have to think about it." She then looked up as Banner approached them.

"You should get back to your dorm. I do not want to get in trouble because of you, Miss Kaiba." She nodded.

"Yah, ok. I'll see you guys tomorrow then." She said as she stood up. She then walked to the door and left.

"I hope she doesn't get in trouble." Syrus thought out loud.

Chazz rolled his eyes from the table behind them. "If you ask me, punishment would be good for her."

XXXXXXX

Zane walked down to the lighthouse where Alexis was standing. "Everything ok?" He asked as he stood next to her.

"Don't worry; Mindy and Jasmine are covering for Kuronu." She told him. "I just needed to get out for a bit."

"Is something wrong?"

"I just…I thought having my brother back would make everything ok again, but it seems there's more questions then ever now. And then with these shadow riders, I just don't know what to do Zane."

Zane was about to reply when they heard a scream. "That sounded like Kuronu!" They both looked around. Zane then saw Kuronu up on the hill, surrounded by…mummies?

XXXXXXX

"Ok, mummies, not sure what you want, but go away!" Kuronu kicked the head off of the mummy in front of her. She smirked. Then the headless mummy walked over, picked up its head, and put it back on. "Ok, that wasn't supposed to happen." Another mummy walked towards her, she kicked it in the stomach, but her foot got caught in it. "Eeeeeeeeew," The mummy then grabbed her leg as another one came up behind her and grabbed her arms.

"Kuronu!" She heard someone shout. She looked down and saw Zane and Alexis. The mummies appeared behind them.

"Run!" Kuronu shouted to them. She then jumped in the air and spun herself around so her free leg whacked the mummy holding her arms across the head, knocking it off.

Her other leg, that was currently stuck inside the stomach of another mummy ripped right through it. She landed on the ground and began to run towards where Alexis and Zane were.

As she ran, someone appeared in front of her. She stopped runny and glared at him. He wasn't an academy student; in fact, he was wearing some weird dress. "You must be Miss Kuronu Kaiba, correct?" He asked. His voice was…odd. Then, someone appeared from behind him.

"That's her," She said. Kuronu's eyes widened.

"R-rose?!" Kuronu exclaimed. Rose smirked.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to hold still," The masked man said as he approached her. Two mummies appeared behind Kuronu and grabbed her arms. The man then put his finger on her forehead.

"What are you-"

"It'll be over soon." Kuronu eyes then went blank as a small ball of light omitted from her chest. Kuronu slumped down. Rose laughed as she looked at the small ball.

"That's it? That's her soul?!" She cackled. "Now get your disgusting mummies out of here." She ordered.

"Excuse me?" The man asked her. "You're not exactly in a position to tell me what to do." Before Rose knew what had happened, her bright green eyes turned blank as she slumped over. Abidos laughed as he and the two girls disappeared.

XXXXXXXX

Jaden groaned as he slowly sat up. "Welcome back." Zane said as he sat near the edge with the others.

"What the?" Jaden asked as he looked around. He looked over and saw professor Banner. "Professor!"

"Those zombies found me and brought me here. That spirit key that I have must have led them to me." He explained.

"That must be how they found all of us." Zane concluded. He then blinked as he remembered Kuronu. "Where's Kuronu?"

"Kuronu's here to?" Syrus asked.

"She was being attacked by those zombies the last time we saw her." Alexis explained. "I hope she got away." Jaden then ran up to the platform and looked over. He saw a man sitting on some sort of throne with lots of other men with spears around him.

Everyone quickly followed Jaden over. "Hello there," The man on the throne said. Banner fell over as he spoke. "What's this?" The masked man asked as Jaden climbed up.

"Hey, what's the big idea!?" The slifer shouted. The masked man began to walk towards him.

"That's not how one should address an Egyptian pharaoh."

"Egyptian pharaoh?" Jaden exclaimed.

"He looks just like that picture we saw in Banner's class." Chazz thought aloud.

"Abidos," Alexis whispered. "What's going?"

"He's a shadow rider." Said Zane. "He's after those sacred beats like the rest."

"Yes, and you don't want to duel me. So just leave your spirits keys and maybe I'll give you back her," He swept his hand to the side as one of the guards appeared. Everyone gasped as they saw Kuronu, hanging limply in front of him.

"Kuronu!" Zane shouted. He gritted his teeth. Her normally bright blue eyes were now blank. Abidos laughed.

"Not to mention her." Another guard appeared holding Rose, her eyes were also blank, but no one seemed to be worried about her.

"Why's she here?" Alexis asked.

"She stuck a deal with me." Abidos replied. "Capture the soul of this lovely girl and she'd tell me where each of you were, but she got a bit to bossy so I took her soul as well."

"Why the nerve of her! Wanting Kuronu's soul captured, it's just not right." Alexis muttered.

"Um, can't you just give us Kuronu back and we can leave you can keep Rose?" Syrus offered. "'Cause, well, no one really likes Rose see. We don't want her."

"Well I don't want her either!" Abidos exclaimed. "So just hand over the spirit keys and you get them both back!"

"Or how about this," Jaden began. "I duel you, and if I win, you let us go, and give us Kuronu back WITH her soul."

"And the other girl, right?" Abidos asked.

"Nah, you can keep her." Alexis called over. Jaden looked back at her.

"You know, we probably should help Rose out. I mean, yah we hate her, she sold us and Kuronu out just so she could get revenge, but she can't be all bad, right?" No one answered. "Ok, so she could be, but what about her family?" Everyone sighed.

"Fine, let's help out Rose." They all said very, VERY reluctantly.

"Fine, I accept your terms." Abidos replied. "But if I win, I get your spirit key, your soul, and I get to keep these two."

"Alright, let's duel!" Jaden said as Chazz tossed him a duel disk.

"Be careful Jaden." Alexis told him. He turned around and gave her a thumbs up.

XXXXXXX

Kuronu groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She saw a purple haze above her. Then a loud, piercing scream filled her ears. "Ack!" She cried. "What repulsive creature is making my ear drums bleed?!" She sat up and saw Rose. "Oh, that repulsive creature." Rose was huddled in a corner of a…purple ball floating in space?! Kuronu looked around. "Rose, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," She cried. "This all your fault!"

"My fault? How is it my fault?"

"If you had just left MY Zane alone, I wouldn't have to go and ask to have your soul taken away!" Kuronu blinked.

"Y- you what!?" Rose covered her mouth. "You wanted my soul taken away, because I'm friends with Zane?"

"Oh, open your eyes!" Rose shouted. "It's so obvious you don't just think of each other as friends any more." Kuronu was really confused. "Oh brother, I mean, haven't you ever noticed how his eyes sparkle when ever he looks at you, or talks about you? And just this evening," Kuronu cocked her head to the side. "Geez, and they say guys are clueless about this stuff.

"So wait, what your saying is,"

"Zane likes you." Rose mumbled. "I know it. Just the way he acts around you…I can just tell." Kuronu took this all in. She couldn't imagine Zane liking a klutz like her. Always messing up, breaking stuff and banging into stuff.

"Nah, I think that's just the after affect of Zane spending too much time with my brothers." Kuronu said, half laughing. Rose looked at her in a way Kuronu had never seen before. Her eyes were almost…sad looking.

"Do you really believe that?" She asked quietly. "You don't know how lucky you are, to be able to just spend time with him, and talk with him, be able to be close to the person you love most, the person most precious to you." Kuronu couldn't believe what she was hearing.

_Is this the same Rose? Oh I get it; the shadow realm makes you act all weird…or is this how Rose really feels? _Is the Zane the person…most precious to you?" I cautiously asked. Rose smiled weakly.

"I thought he was, but now I'm not so sure now." She answered. "I used to think that all guys would like me simply for my looks, but Zane, he always just kind of ignored me, and once I started picking on you, he seemed to hate me."

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't know," Kuronu tried to apologize, but then again, what exactly was she apologizing for? It was Rose's own fault if everyone hated her.

"You really are lucky," Rose said again. "To have so many friends, to have a family who wants to spend time you. Yah, maybe they can't always, but at least they want to." She whispered. Kuronu slowly scooted closer to Rose.

"Your family doesn't want to spend time with you?" Rose laughed.

"Both my parents have been divorced and re married so many times, I can't keep track of my step parents, but I'm always going from place to place, having to visit each and everyone of them, and they all tell me the same thing: they can't wait for me to leave." Kuronu's eyes widened.

"Rose," She whispered. _How am I to respond to something like that? Wherever she goes, she's told she's not wanted._" Kuronu thought to herself. _I used to think that I had such a horrible life, that I was always alone; I had no friends at other schools, but I never even thought that my parents wanted to spend time with me. But Rose, her family doesn't want her, and she has no friends at all, though that's kind of her fault, but still._

"Why am I eve telling you this?" She said suddenly. "It's not like you care."

"How do you know that?" Kuronu asked. Rose looked at her. "I hate people like that: people who assume they know how someone else feels, but they don't. You don't how many times I've said I was sorry and then person responds 'no your not.' How do you know I don't care?" Rose didn't answer.

XXXXXXX

Zane stared hard at Kuronu. She seemed so lifeless just hanging there. Her eyes were slightly open, but they were blank, and she hadn't blinked once.

"I wonder what the shadow realm is like." Syrus wondered. "And why do I see Kuronu and Rose having a fist fight inside a floating purple sphere in outer space?"

"How should I know?" Chazz responded coldly. "Who could possibly fathom the deep depth of your whacked imagination?"

"Hey, it's not whacked!" Syrus yelled back. "I'm juts saying what picture comes to my mind, I can't control it."

"What do you mean you can't control it? It's your mind!" Chazz shouted. Zane sighed.

"Why would Rose want Abidos to take away Kuronu's soul?" He asked aloud, though it was mostly meant just for himself.

"Duh," Alexis replied. "Because she's jealous of Kuronu." Everyone looked over at Alexis. "Who knows, maybe she even saw that whole scene with you two." Alexis smirked at this. Zane quickly turned away.

"Scene?" Syrus asked. "What scene? Zane, what's she talking about?"

"Nothing that concerns you." Zane replied. His face began to turn pink.

"What's going with you and Kuronu? You know, lately you've been acting weird around her, like, you smile more, you act nicer,"

"It's nothing Syrus." Zane told him through gritted teeth. Syrus folded his arms as he sulked. Alexis snickered.

XXXXXXX

Kuronu was now sitting next to Rose as they talked casually. Rose laughed. "You're not so bad Kaiba," She said, smirking.

"Thanks, you're not as horrible as I thought you were either." Kuronu replied. Rose blinked.

"You…thought I was horrible?" Rose asked, no longer smiling. A sweat drop rolled down Kuronu's head.

"Ah, well, you know you were kinda a jerk to me and everyone else," Rose glared at her. "It's only natural that I would think you were horrible," Rose slowly raised her fist. "But I was wrong!" Kuronu added quickly scooting away. "And it's not like you didn't think I was horrible,"

"Actually, I just thought you were a spoiled brat who was trying to steal my love away from me." Rose corrected. "And I just didn't like you."

"Oh…we you were wrong, right?"

"No! You are just a spoiled brat who was trying to steal my love away from me!"

"No, I wasn't, and I'm not…trying to steal your love away from you that is…and I am not a spoiled brat!" The two girls then began to engage themselves in a fist fight.

XXXXXXX

Elemental hero Clayman, Burstinatrix, Avion, and spark man charged at Abidos. "Hero flash!" Jaden called. The four monsters struck Abidos, sending his life points down to zero. "That's game." Jaden told him, doing his signature pose.

XXXXXXX

The bottom of sphere that the two girls were in suddenly opened, and they went plummeting towards the earth. The held onto each other as they screamed, then looked at each other, realizing they were holding onto each other and pushed them selves apart. They both crossed they arms, then looked down as the earth was getting closer and closer. They then hugged each other again, screaming at the top of their lungs as a bright light surrounded them.

XXXXXXXX

Jaden waved good by as the ship floated up into the sky. Kuronu was cradled in Zane's arms as Rose lay on the ground by Chazz's feat. "So how's Kuronu?" Jaden asked as he looked at Zane.

"She'll probably be out for a while." He replied, softly smiling at the girl.

"What do we do with Rose?" Chazz asked. "Because I am not carrying her all they way back to her dorm."

"We could just leave her here." Alexis suggested. Everyone stared at her. "I was kidding." She said quickly. She then turned away. "Mostly,"

Banner sighed. "I guess I'll say that I found her out side, probably tripped her something."

"Thanks teach," Jaden said. "Now what about Kuronu? We can't do that with her, she'll get in major trouble."

"I guess…" Zane began. "I'll take her back to her dorm." He said. Alexis smirked. "Would you get smirk off your face?" He told her. "Unless you'd like to carry her back."

"Ah, no thanks, I'll leave that to you." Alexis replied as she walked passed him. "Come on, I'll show you to your dorm." Zane silently followed her.

"I'm telling," Syrus said as he, Jaden, and Chazz began their hike back to the slifer dorms. "There's something weird going on with my bro."

"I'm, sure it's just your overactive whacked imagination." Chazz told him.

"Oh, so now it's overactive too?"

XXXXXX

Alexis opened the door to Kuronu's dorm room. Mindy and Jasmine were sitting on her bed. "There you are!" Jasmine exclaimed as the two walked in.

"What happened to Kuronu?" Mindy asked. Zane looked down at the girl he was holding.

"She's just tired." He replied. He then walked passed the three girls and gently set her down on the bed. The three girls smiled. "Would you stop smiling like that?" He told them.

"Come on girls, bed time." Alexis said as she exited the room.

Zane stared hard at Kuronu. All night he had that weird feeling, that ever growing knot in his stomach. "Maybe," He whispered. A breeze blew into the room via the open doors to the balcony. It blew her long brown hair gently as she lay on the bed. He placed his hand on her cheek. "Maybe its love," He said to himself as he gently kissed her on the cheek.

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Authoresses note: Aw, it's finally done. Wow, that was really annoying to write. Anywho, I'll try to update as soon as possible, please review and no harsh flames.


	40. Zane's return gift

Authoresses note: Alrighty, first things first, thanks guys so much for reviewing, you rock! And...I think that's it so it's time to get this chapter started.

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Chapter 40: Zane's return gift.

Kuronu sank low into the warm water so that only above her nose showed. She was in the girl's spa room with Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine. Since the incident with Abidos, she had strayed more and more away from the rules that her Father and Crowler has set for her. She now ate with the slifers every other night, and when she ate in obelisk now, she ate with Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine. She had even began to go back to wearing her slifer uniform, though she only wore that every so often because Crowler got really mad at her, but she now found out that Crowler didn't actually punish her, he just tried to call her dad...but never got a response.

_I hope my whole family didn't die without anyone knowing..._ She thought to herself as she played with the bubbles in front of her. She looked over to where the others were talking.

"Oh my gosh, today is going to be such an awesome day," Mindy began. "I gave so many valentines' presents to guys."

"They'll probably all just get you candy or cookies or something." Jasmine told her.

"Huh?" Kuronu asked. The other three looked at her. "Remind me what's so special about today."

"It's March 14th," Alexis told her. Kuronu stared at them blankly.

After several moments, she then let out an "Ooooooooooooooooooh," The other girls giggled. "Ok, today's March 14th, and it's special, because tomorrows my birthday!" It was now Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine's turn to stare at her blankly.

"That's great," Alexis finally said. "You'll be 16?" Kuronu nodded. "Sweet, you can get your permit."

"I know!" Kuronu clapped her hands together.

"But that's not what's special about today." Jasmine said, popping the girl's bubble of excitement. "Today's white day, the day all the guys give return presents to girls who gave them a valentine's present." Kuronu pondered this.

"Oh yah, that. My brothers and uncle get all worked up about today, but it's not a big deal to me." Kuronu told them.

"How can it not be a big deal?!" Mindy exclaimed.

Kuronu shrugged. "Well, I only give presents to my family on Valentine's Day, and so I only get return gifts from my family and Kiyo."

"Kiyo?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh I remember him," Mindy said. "Yah, Yugi's son, he was kinda cute. So you guys exchange presents?"

"Yup, so I've never really been excited about white day...hey, I didn't get him anything this year...maybe I should've mailed something to him...oh well." Kuronu then went back to playing with her bubbles. Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine looked at each other, and then back at Kuronu.

"Um, Kuronu," Alexis began. "You gave a present to Zane."

"Yah, so?"

"Well, then that means he's going to get YOU something." Jasmine explained. Kuronu stopped moving. Her face went pale as she slowly looked at the other girls.

"Oh yah..."She whispered. Her face turned slightly red as she forced herself to smile. "I-I'm sure he'll just get me candy or something. That's what Kiyo always gets me, candy, or home made cookies."

"Yah, maybe," Alexis began as she swam over to Kuronu. "But some guys give girls jewelry."

"Yah, that's what my uncle and brothers give girls."

"Yah and Zane gave you a pretty nice one for Christmas." Mindy told her. Kuronu remembered the emerald necklace, then how it shattered in her duel with Rose. "And there in the card shop, there's a place where you can order jewelry and stuff."

"You don't say," Kuronu muttered.

"Or he could just get you candy." Alexis said. "But whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be nice."

"Hey, didn't you get something for Jaden, Lex?" Jasmine suddenly asked. "I wonder what he'll get you."

"Probably just duel cards or something," Alexis replied. "That's all I got him after all." Mindy and Jasmine gave her a look that said 'Are you crazy?! You can't give a guy duel monster cards for valentine's day!!' "What? I couldn't think of anything else, besides, he really seemed to like them."

"But Lex, now he's not going to go all out and try to get you 'the perfect gift.'" Jasmine told her, a sympathetic look on her face.

"That guy probably hasn't even thought twice about that to get you." Mindy said.

XXXXXXXX

"Oh man, what am I gonna do?!" Jaden exclaimed as he paced around his dorm room. Syrus and Chumley then suddenly entered.

"Hey Jaden," Syrus said, watching his friend pace the room. "Are...you ok? You didn't come to eat lunch."

"Yah and it was grilled cheese today." Chumley added.

"Guys you gotta help me," Jaden said with a frantic look on his face. "Alexis gave me these totally sweet dueling cards for valentine's day, look!" He held up five cards.

"Woh," Syrus muttered as his eyes widened. There was then a loud knock on the door. Syrus opened it, only to see Chazz.

"Would you losers mind keeping it down?" He said.

"Sorry Chazz, I'm just trying to figure out what to get Alexis for a return gift. She got me these sweet cards, see?" Chazz stared at them.

"No way!" He shouted. "There's no way MY Alexis would waist her money on good cards like that for YOU!" He mumbled some curses under his breath.

"Anyways," Jaden began. "I'm trying to figure out what to get her, it has to be perfect." Chazz regained his composure and crossed his arms.

"Don't bother," He said. "Because no matter how hard you try, it will never be as good as what I'm getting her." He then had an image in his head.

_"Chazz, this gift is amazing," Alexis said in a weird, over dramatic voice. She then hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "Chazz!" She said again. _

Chazz stood there as he dreamt his little fantasy. "So, you're getting some thing for Alexis?" Syrus asked, interrupting Chazz's 'wonderful' fantasy.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I?" Chazz snapped.

"Well, she didn't get anything for you." Syrus pointed out bluntly. Chazz fell over.

"Guys!" Jaden shouted. "We still have my problem: What am I going to get her? It has to be perfect."

"Well, I heard that you can by some pretty nice jewelry and the card shop," Before Syrus could finish the thought, Jaden sped off past him and towards the shop. "Wait up Jay!" Syrus called as he and Chumley followed him.

"Great, why do we always have to run?" Chumley asked, mostly to himself then anyone else.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu wrapped her towel around her as she stood in the locker room. Her long, brown hair lay sopping wet behind her. As she reached for her clothes her PDA rang, indicating she had a message. "Huh, wonder who that could be." She wondered as she picked it up.

Alexis looked over and saw Kuronu, standing with a dazed look on her face, staring at her PDA. "Who's the message from?" She asked.

"Z- Zane," She replied quietly. Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine were immediately standing behind her, looking over her shoulder.

"Read it!" They all told her in unison.

"R-right," Kuronu replied as she opened the e-mail.

_'Kuronu,_

_Meet me at my dorm room as soon as you can its room number 317_

_Zane.'_

"I bet he wants to give you his return gift!" Mindy said excitedly as she lightly hopped up and down.

"What else could it be?" Jasmine asked. Kuronu stared blankly at the PDA. "Well?"

"Go!" Alexis shouted. Kuronu stumbled as she grabbed her clothes and began to get changed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jaden ran into the card shop to where they were selling gifts and stuff. His eyes widened as he stared at the prices for the jewelry.

"Wow," Syrus said as he came up next to him. "That's a fair amount of zeros."

"How are we supposed to pay for this stuff?" Jaden wondered.

"I think it's mainly for the obelisks," Dorothy said as she approached them. "Rich families and stuff."

"That makes sense," Jaden said. He then sighed. "Now what am I supposed to get Alexis?"

"You could just get her candy." Syrus offered. Jaden slowly shook his head.

"Candy isn't good enough," He pulled out the cards and looked at them. "I have to get Lex something really nice, and the candy is pretty expensive too."

"So, you're trying to figure out what to get Alexis as return gift, huh?" Dorothy asked. "Jaden, I guarantee that she will like anything you get her as long as it's from your heart." Jaden smiled a little.

"Thanks Dorothy."

_Wow,_ Syrus thought to himself as they left the shop. _I've never seen Jay so worried about something._ "Hey I have an idea," Syrus announced, Chumley and Jaden looked at him. "Let's ask Zane for advice."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Jaden replied. "Let's go." The three slifers ran to the obelisk dorms. As they got closer, they saw Kuronu.

She was dressed in her slifer uniform, well, mostly. Her hair was flying behind her, sopping wet, and she was trying to get her boots on. She tripped and fell, pulled on both her boots, then ran inside to the obelisk dorms. The three slifer blinked.

"K- Kuronu?" Jaden asked as they stared at the door. "I wonder why she's in such a hurry. They ran inside and saw Kuronu halfway up the left side of the stair case, an obelisk guy in front of her.

"Girls can't go in the guy's dorms!" He lectured.

"But I need to see Zane, he told me to meet him in his dorm." She then pulled out her PDA. "I have proof!" The obelisk read the message.

"Fine, I guess since he invited you," Kuronu ran past him with out another look.

"Hey Kuronu, wait up!" Jaden called, but she didn't hear him.

XXXXXXXXX

Three obelisks threw out Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley. They landed on the ground in front of the dorms. "But Zane's my brother." Syrus pleaded.

"I don't care if you were his...um...well the point is, no slifers in the obelisk dorms!" The one shouted as the returned inside.

"Sorry Jay, I thought that would work." Syrus apologized.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just wondering why Kuronu was going to see him." Syrus then realized that maybe Zane wanted to give her his return gift. "Oh well, guess I'd better continue to look for something for Alexis." He got up, dusted himself off, and walked off.

"Jaden, wait up." Syrus called for the second time he ran after him.

"Great, more running," Chumley whined.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu walked passed many doors and white walls. She then came to a fork in the hallway. "Oh great," She muttered. "I knew I should've found a map first." She looked left, then right. "Lets see, left starts with 136, and right goes 150...I wish I had a map." She sighed as she walked down the right path.

Three hours later

Kuronu's stomach growled. "Why didn't I eat more lunch?" She looked at her PDA. "Zane probably thinks that I won't show. He's probably not even in his room anymore, I mean; it's almost time for dinner." She sighed as she continued to walk down the hall. _I wonder what Zane will give me, which is, assuming he wants to give me his return gift. _Her stomach growled again. "Darn these walls that all look the same and my sense of direction...well, more lack thereof, but whatever."

A number on a door then caught her eye. _Is that?_ She ran to the door and pushed it open. A boy with brown hair stood there, half naked. He stared at her as she stared at him, her eyes getting wider and wider, her face getting redder and redder. Then, without any warning, the boy let out a loud, piercing, high pitched scream.

"Sorry!" Kuronu exclaimed as she slammed the door shut. The number on the door read 217. She groaned. She then continued to walk down the hall, mumbling undecipherable words.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jaden sighed as he sat by the statutes outside the main building. "I've looked all afternoon, and I still couldn't find anything. He then looked over and saw Alexis talking with her two friends. He stood up and began to walk over to them.

"Jaden?" Chumley asked.

"Where are you going?" Syrus called.

"Um, hey Lex," Jaden as he approached her. She smiled at him.

"Hey Jaden, what's up?"

"I...I have a confession to make," Jaden began. "I- I couldn't really find a gift for you." He confessed. Jasmine and Mindy gasped. "I tried really hard, but nothing seemed...good enough. I wanted to get you the perfect gift, since you got me those awesome cards, but nothing seemed right for you, I'm sorry." The three girls stared at him. "So, I just got this," He then held up a yellow rose. "I just found it in the woods, it's nothing that great.

"Jaden," Alexis began. "I- I'm not sure what to say," She took the rose as her cheeks became pink. "It's so beautiful," She whispered. She smiled at him. "Thank you Jaden, this is one of the nicest gifts I've ever received." Jaden blinked several times.

"I-it is?" Alexis nodded.

"Wow, he actually got her something descent," Jasmine whispered.

"Yah, remind me to get him something next Valentine's Day." Mindy agreed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu took in a deep breath as she gazed at the door. The number 317 was on it. She closed her eyes as she lightly knocked. After a moment, she slowly opened the door. She saw a large bed neatly made in the center of the room. There was also a large couch and a big screen TV. On the other side of the bed was a balcony, where she saw Zane standing. He turned around and looked at her and smiled. Kuronu closed the door as she walked over to him.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here," She blurted out quickly. "You see,"

"It doesn't matter," Zane interrupted as she now stood directly in front of him. The two stared at each other for a moment.

_Should I say something? _She wondered. _Like, 'What did you want?' No, no, no! That sounds rude! Um...'how was your day?'...no comment,_

"I'd like to give you something," Zane finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Oh, a present?" Kuronu asked, clapping her hands together.

"Yah," Zane replied, smiling warmly.

"I like presents." Zane chuckled. Her eyes then fell on a small velvet box in his hand. He followed her eyes and lifted the box.

"Here, it's kind of a combined birthday present/white day gift. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's fine, that's what Kiyo does." She said as she took the gift. He leaned against railing on the balcony and folded his arms. Kuronu opened the box. Her eyes fell onto a bright blue gem stone surrounded by white gold. The pendant was hanging from white silk.

"Your other one broke," The obelisk began. "And it was a shame because...you looked so pretty in it." Kuronu blushed.

"Zane, thank you." She pulled it out of the box and tried to put it on.

"Here, let me help," Zane took the ends and latched them together. Like the other one, it was a choker. Kuronu placed her fingers on the sapphire and smiled at Zane. He then took both of Kuronu's hands in his own. "The gem matches your eyes very nicely." He told her. Kuronu, again, blushed. "Kuronu," He began, he bit his lip.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. Zane chuckled as he continued to hold both her hands.

"No, it's just, for a while now, ever since around Christmas, I've been getting these weird feelings when ever I'm around you or think about you a lot."

"Oh, my brothers say that they get weird feelings around me too because they think I smell bad, then I'd run crying to my parents and they'd reassure me that I didn't smell bad...except this one time my dad told me that I reeked." Zane stared at her blankly. "Because I had been in a fist fight with this guy at my school and we were rolling in the mud," She added quickly. Zane chuckled.

"Ok, anyways," The awkward feeling quickly returned. _Darn it,_ Zane thought to himself. _That ruined the moment. _"I couldn't quite figure out what those feelings were, until recently." Zane's cheeks turned slightly red. "I-," He narrowed his eyes. "I love you."

The words hit Kuronu like a rock. A light breeze tossed her hair around. They both stared at each other again for a long while. The words hadn't quite sunk into Kuronu yet. "I realized this when Abidos captured your soul. I've been waiting for the right moment to tell you, because I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep these feelings bottled up for long, but the moment never came...until now." He then streamed his fingers through her wet hair.

"Zane," Kuronu whispered. _I have to tell him, Zane I feel the same, I love you! _

"I don't know if you feel the same for me," He continued.

_NO!! I LOVE YOU!!. .And how could you not know that? _Kuronu screamed inside her head, but outside, she only stared blankly at him. _STOP IT!!!! STOP IT YOU STUPID GIRL!!! Stop staring at him with jaw hanging open like an idiot, and stop staring at him in total utter shock like an idiot!! MOOOOOOOOOOVE!!! _Kuronu clutched her head and ran to the edge of the balcony. She fell down onto her he knees and began to bang her head on the wall.

"Kuronu?" Zane asked as he took a step towards her.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! Zane, I've wanted to tell you how I've felt for so long, but now that I have the chance, I'm can't say anything! _"Stupid," She muttered as she continued to bang her head. Blood began to trickle down.

"Kuronu, you're bleeding," Zane told her as he knelt down next to her. "I'm sorry," He put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I just..."

"STOP IT!!" Kuronu blurted out. Zane blinked. She held her head in her hands as she breathed hard. _Stupid girl, now he thinks I don't like him, tell him, tell him!!!_

"Ok," he then proceeded to stand up. Kuronu's eyes shot open.

"N- No, wait," Kuronu stood up as she covered scratch on her forehead. "I wasn't telling you to stop, I was shouting to myself because, well I don't know, because I'm me, and for some reason I couldn't say what I've been wanting to say for so long now," She said very quickly. "I-" Her voice suddenly stopped. _Stupid girl, say it!!_ "I really, really like you Zane!" It was now Zane's turn to stare at her blankly while she told him about how she liked hi. "I've liked you for a really long time, but I didn't tell you because I thought that you could never like me and then things would be really awkward and we'd never speak to each other again-"

Zane put his index finger over her lips. "Why would you think I wouldn't like you?"

"Well... You're just...so good at everything, and I'm constantly messing up, like I couldn't even win that duel against Rose, and the necklace you gave me broke, and..."

"Kuronu," Zane took in a small breath. "Would you...be my girl friend?"

Kuronu slowly nodded once, then several times. "Yes, I'd like that." They both smiled at each other, and then the wind blew as they stood there in awkward silence for several moments. "So...now what?"

"I'm not sure," Zane admitted. "What usually happens after a guy asks a girl to be his girlfriend?"

"I...don't know," Kuronu said. "I've never had a boyfriend before."

"I've never had a girlfriend before." Kuronu's jaw dropped.

'Y-you?! Never?!" Zane shook his head no. "Not even an... unofficiall one?" Again, her new boyfriend shook his head no. "Well...this will be...interesting..."

"Indeed..."

Awkward silence.

"Sooooooooo," Kuronu began as she twiddled her thumbs. "Uh, have any...good duels lately?"

"No, not really," Zane replied as he scratched the back of his head. "You?"

"Haven't dueled since Rose."

"I see...so you're wearing your slifer jacket again?"

Kuronu looked at her blazer. "Oh, yes. I just wanted to wear it again."

"You look cute in it." They both blushed.

"T-thanks..."

Awkward silence.

"So what should we do?" Kuronu asked. "We can't just sit here and talk about random stuff until who knows when..."

"Well, I can think of one thing." Zane slowly leaned forward, closing his eyes.

_A kiss? _Kuronu thought to herself. _Already? But we haven't gone on a date, screw the date, how's my breath? What if my teeth feel grimy? Wait, your noses touch when you kiss, what if my nose feels grimy?! Ack, forget it. _Kuronu closed her eyes she readied herself for her first kiss, when the voice of someone familiar called her name.

"Hey Kuronu!" Jaden called. Kuronu fell over as Zane quickly stepped back. Both of their hearts were pounding in their chests. Kuronu slowly stood up; her hair was slightly sticking up as her eyes were wide and angry looking. She looked down to the ground and saw Jaden and Syrus. "JADEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted. The two slifers shrunk down. 'Do you have any idea of what you interrupted...again??!!!"

"Um, no," Jaden replied meekly. Kuronu clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "Um, it's time for dinner though, and tonight you were gonna eat with us, remember?"

"Right," She looked over at Zane. "I guess I'll see you later then." Zane nodded.

"I guess so." They both smiled. Kuronu waved as she climbed down the tree by his balcony. Once down she waved one last time as she followed Jaden and Syrus.

The two slifer boys looked back at her as she skipped behind them, a huge smile on her face. "So...what did Zane want?" Syrus asked.

"Oh, nothing," She replied, followed by a giggle and her cheeks turning pink.

"Sure doesn't seem like nothing," Jaden commented. Kuronu suddenly stopped walking. "What's wrong?"

"Zane asked me to be his girlfriend!" She said quickly. Jaden and Syrus glanced at each other, then at Kuronu, and then laughed awkwardly.

"K-Kuronu," Jaden began. "It kinda sound like you said,"

"Zane asked you to be his girlfriend." Syrus finished. "But we know you didn't really say that."

"Zane asked me to be his girlfriend!" Kuronu again. Jaden and Syrus's eyes became as large as dinner plates.

"You know, this time it REALLY sound like you said," Jaden began.

"He told me that he loved me," Kuronu continued. The two slifer's jaws dropped down to the ground. "And after much head banging, I finally managed to him I felt the same so...now we're dating!" Jaden noted the scratch on her forehead and the blood stains that ran down her cheek and neck.

"M-my brother?" Syrus stuttered. "Is your b-b-b-boyfriend?" Kuronu nodded. "Zane?" Syrus asked again. "My brother Zane," Once again, Kuronu nodded. "That guy?!" He pointed to his older brother who was leaning on the rail of the balcony. Kuronu waved to him, and then nodded. Syrus's eyes rolled back in their sockets as he fell to the ground.

"Sy?" Jaden asked. "I think he fainted..."

"Oh, there's Alexis!" Kuronu exclaimed. "I'm gonna go tell her!" Kuronu ran over to them. Jaden looked down at Syrus, then at Zane, then back at Kuronu. The four girls were now jumping up and down and screaming, she must've told them. Jaden sat down next to his fainted friend.

"I can't believe Kuronu's dating Zane now," He muttered. "Since when has Zane even felt that way about her?"

"I knew he liked you." Mindy said. "Oh my gosh, this is so..."

"Sudden?" Jasmine filled in.

"More like amazing!" Alexis hugged Kuronu. Alexis's smile slowly disappeared as she watched Rose walk over to them.

"So," The red head began. "If I heard you correctly, Zane has confessed that he's quite in love with you Miss Kaiba." Kuronu nodded, unable to say anything. They seemed to have been getting along in the shadow realm, but then all at once it all fell apart, though now Rose pretty much just ignored her and the others instead of constantly patronizing them. "Well then, congrats, but remember, you may have one this battle, but you haven't one the war." With this Rose walked away.

_Rose,_ Kuronu thought to herself. Her face became red again as she recalled what had transpired in the last few minuets.

"If you'll excuse me," Alexis said as she walked past the other girls and walked into the obelisk dorms. Jaden appeared behind them with Syrus slung over his shoulder.

"Ok new girlfriend of Zane," He said, Kuronu's face became redder at this. "Let's go celebrate!" Kuronu nodded as she said goodbye to Mindy and Jasmine and followed Jaden and the unconscious Syrus to the slifer dorms.

XXXXXXXXX

Alexis walked out onto the balcony where Zane was standing. "I told you you'd figure out your feelings." She said as she came up behind him. Zane smirked.

"Yep, things are only going to get more interesting from here on out."

"Yah, I wonder what'll happen when the rest of the Kaiba family finds out, especially Haru and Hiro." Zane's eyes widened at this, and then he groaned as he massaged his forehead.

"Oh, just thinking about those two gives me a migraine." He muttered.

"And her father, Seto Kaiba," The blonde taunted. Zane glared at her.

"Would you stop that." Zane snapped as he walked back into his room. Alexis followed him, she was enjoying every moment of this.

"Oh, and I can't wait to see what Meisha does,"

"Alexis," Zane groaned. Alexis laughed.

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authoresses note: Alrighty I'll end it there. Ok, sorry if some of the characters, mainly Zane and Alexis are getting a little out of character, I'll try to keep Alexis in tact, but Zane's character will remain cool, calm and collected, but now that he has a girlfriend, Kuronu no less, he might seem really out of character at some points, but I'll try to keep him the same loveable Zane that we all no and love as much as possible. Ok, please review, I love when I get lots of reviews, and no harsh flames please. Oh, my back hurts now...what the heck, I'm too young to say stuff like that! But it's true. Ok, toodles.


	41. Syrus's dream

Authoresses note: Yay, new chapter. Ok guys, thanks so much for reviewing, you guys rock!

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Chapter 41: Syrus's dream.

Syrus awoke the next day, but he wasn't in his own, cruddy slifer bed. He was in a huge bed with white sheets in white pajamas in a totally and completely white room. "What the-" He muttered as he looked around. Just the then the door slid open a crack. Two heads popped around the door frame, it has Haru and Hiro Kaiba, but they didn't look normal. They had the same usual hair eyes and clothes that they always had, but their normal large smiles were now freakishly large, kind of like the joker's from batman. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Syrus screamed when he saw them. Their freakishly large smiles widened...if that was even possible.

"Good morning younger brother of Zane whom is now dating our younger sister Kuronu." They said in perfect unison, though their voices sounded slightly different, ok, really different. They sound exactly the same and kind of echoy...and weird. And when they spoke, their mouths didn't open.

"Um...why are you guys here, where am I, why did you call me that, and it makes it sound like I'M the one dating Kuronu." Syrus said rather quickly. The twins looked at each other with their freakishly large smiles, then back at Syrus...with their freakishly large smiles.

"In order," they began. "It's our house, you're in our house, because we could, and whatever, we know what we mean." Syrus was really freaked out now. Their voices were creepy, they hadn't taken a single breath during that sentence, and their smiles were just done right disturbing. And they were no longer switching back in forth between sentences and occasionally talking in unison, no, every word was now spoken at the exact same time in the exact same tone...it was very freakish. "No come, younger brother of Zane whom is now dating our younger sister Kuronu, it is time for breakfast." And with that, they left.

"Um, you can just call me Syrus!" He sighed as he got out of bed and walked on the pure white carpet. When he opened his drawer, he found that all his clothes were white. "What on earth?" He looked in a mirror to make sure his hair and skin wasn't white as well. He was relieved to find that they weren't. He quickly got dressed in his strange white clothes, and walked out into the hall, which also had white carpet and white walls, it was rather hard to tell what was the wall and what was the ceiling and where the doors were and such.

"Wow, I guess the Kaiba's did some major re-decorating," He commented as he walked down the hall. "I wonder where the others are...and how on earth do they keep everything so clean?" He finally found his way to the dinning room, which was also completely white. He saw five people sitting at the long table, who were also wearing all white.

At the head of the table was Seto Kaiba, in the center on the right side was Haru and Hiro and their freakishly large smiles, across from them was Mallory, who surprisingly was also wearing white, and at the end was Meisha, and much to Syrus's dismay, also had a freakishly huge smile. She turned and looked at him which sent shivers down his spine.

"Good morning younger brother of Zane whom is now dating my baby Kuronu," Her mouth also did not open when she spoke.

_Oh great, not her too. _Syrus thought to himself.

"Come, sit, eat." Her voice was also different, it sounded really high pitched, and the smile that extended off her face didn't help.

"Um, I kind of lost my appetite," He glanced over at Mallory and saw that her eyes were glowing red and she had fangs.

"Sit and eat, fool!" She shouted. Her voice sounded layered. Syrus yelped as he sat down in between the twins. They both slowly looked at him with their freakishly huge smiles that extended off of their faces and their wide eyes.

"Food is goooooooooooood." They said in perfect unison. Syrus let out a very forced laugh, for he didn't not feel like laughing, he felt like running away screaming for his life away from these weird people.

"S- s- so, where's my brother and the others?" He asked nervously.

"They went out shopping for Christmas presents." Meisha replied.

"Oh...hey wait, Christmas is over, and Zane and Kuronu weren't dating then." Syrus pointed out. They all laughed really weird freakish laughs.

"Oh younger brother of Zane whom is now dating my baby Kuronu, you say the darnest things." Meisha said with her weird high pitched voice. Syrus blinked.

"M-m-m-m- maybe I'll join them,"

"Noooooooooo," Haru and Hiro said as they put their arms around him. "Silly younger brother of Zane whom is now dating our baby sister Kuronu, you must stay with us and keep is from loneliness." They said.

"O- ok." Syrus replied, his voice rather squeaky. _What the heck is going on?_ "Um, I have to go to the bathroom." he said as he sped out of the room. He ran through the white halls until he reached his room, he then ran into the bathroom and locked it. "What is going on here?" He glanced in the room and saw that his skin and hair were now completely white. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed. He stumbled backwards until he heard a voice.

"What's wrong younger brother of Zane whom is now dating my twerpy sister Kuronu?" Syrus looked up and saw Mallory, her skin and hair was also completely white as her white trench coat blew in the wind. Her eyes were glowing red as she smiled, reveling her fangs which were dripping with red. Syrus backed away.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked. "W-what do you want?" She cackled, her voice sounding very demonic.

"I vant to drink you blood," Syrus screamed. He thrust open the door and ran into his room, then into the closet and locked that door. It was completely dark. _Mallory's a vampire? _

"What's wrong younger brother of Zane whom is now dating our younger sister Kuronu?" Syrus froze. He slowly turned around and saw two wide blue eyes staring at him. The light suddenly flashed on and the twins were standing there with their freakishly huge smiles, and they were also completely white, hair and skin included. But for some strange reason, they were holding a fork and a knife in each hand and there were napkins wrapped around their necks.

"U-um, what are those for?" He pointed at the utensils. The twins looked at their hands then back at Syrus.

"Food is goooooooooooood." They said. Syrus blinked as he realized. He screamed and ran back into the room where Seto, Meisha and Mallory were. Seto was like Mallory, a vampire with glowing red eyes and fangs with blood dripping from the mouth, and Meisha was like the twins, a cannibal.

Syrus screamed as he ran by the white faced and white haired people out of his white room and into the white halls. He ran down the steps to the front door, only to find that it was locked. He turned around and saw the Kaiba family walking towards him.

"Where's my brother?" Syrus demanded. "Where's Zane?"

"Zane went back to the academy," The twins told him. "With everyone else."

"W-what about me?"

"You're going to stay with us younger brother of Zane whom is now dating my baby Kuronu," Meisha began. "Forever,"

"And ever," The twins said.

"And ever," Mallory said.

"And ever," Seto said.

"And ever," They were now all talking in unison. "And ever, and ever, and ever," Syrus's eyes widened with fear. "And ever,"

"And ever!!" The twins exclaimed. Syrus let out one final shriek.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Syrus," They all said.

"No, go away!" Syrus yelled as he covered his ears.

"Syrus, Syrus," The voices seemed to lose their weird echoy tones as they slowly turned back into a familiar voice.

"Syrus!"

Syrus sat up, he was sweating in his own cruddy slifer bed, Jaden was looking at him with concerned eyes. "Sy, are you ok?" He asked. "You were tossing and turning and screaming."

"I don't want to be a Kaiba!" He cried as he pulled the covers over his head. Jaden blinked.

"What was that about?"

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Authoresses note: Wow that was THE shortest chapter that I have written for anything. Well, just a short random filler chapter, I sorta feel like I should go on, but then it'd go on for several more pages and then it'd be like the other, 15 pages or more. So...please review, no harsh flames. Oh wait, before I go, I didn't not tell you the wonderful news. I can now update from my room! See, I got a new best friend, his name is memory stick. So now I can update on my crappy computer in my room with no internet, then save the data onto my best friend named memory stick and take it to my dad's crappy computer with internet, so I should get to update a bit more then lately. Ok, so yah, review, no harsh flames.


	42. Happy Sweet 16th, Kuronu

Authoresses note: Wowzerz, sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I guess the bad thing about being able to update from my room is that I'm lazy about it now, so I'm going to force myself to update once a week or so, unless I'm too busy with school and such. Any who, thanks for reviewing, they rocked.

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Chapter 42: Happy Sweet 16th, Kuronu

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Chazz asked as he hung a string of streamers from the slifer cafeteria ceiling.

"Because," Jaden began, "it's Kuronu's 16 birthday, and we've gotta do something extra special for her. I've told Alexis, Bastion, Mindy, Jasmine, and of course Syrus, and you to pretend like today is nothing special,"

"So this is a surprise party?" Chumley asked as he took a breath from blowing up balloons."

"Yup. I planned everything myself." Jaden announced proudly.

"No wonder this place looks like a bomb exploded." Chazz commented as he looked around. Streamers were dangling from the ceiling from one end, and every so often they fell. Balloons scattered the floor. There were so many that they went up to almost their knees. All in all, the place looked awful.

"Uh, Chum, I think that's enough balloons." Jaden told him, a sweat drop on the side of his head.

"Ok, Jay," Syrus said as he looked around nervously. "That's all the streamers; I'm going to be now."

"But what about the party?" Chumley asked.

"No thanks," Syrus said quickly as he ran through the knee deep balloons to the door. "I don't want Kuronu to eat me."

Just then Alexis walked in with a cake. Syrus ran past her so quickly that she stumbled into the room into the mess of balloons and tripped. The cake went flying into the air and landed on Chazz. Suddenly all the balloons popped. "Woops," Alexis said as she stood up. The cake slowly fell off of Chazz and onto the floor.

"Well, the cake did taste good." He muttered.

"Nooooooooooooooo!" Jaden cried. "All the balloons are gone! Ack, what time is it?"

"Almost 7:30," Alexis told him. "Kuronu will be here soon."

"Remind me why we waited till after dinner to do this?" Chazz asked as he whipped his face off. "And what is up with Syurs today? Every time he sees Kaiba he screams bloody murder."

"Um, something about a dream where the rest of her family wanted to eat him. I think he's just stressing out 'cause Kuronu's dating Zane." Jaden explained. The door then burst open for the second time, but this time it was Bastion.

"Am I late?" He asked.

"Nope, you're early." Alexis told him.

Bastion looked around. Popped balloons were all over the place, and there was cake on the floor and on Chazz. A streamer then fell on his head. "What happened?" He asked.

"More like what didn't happen," Chazz muttered. Alexis sighed.

"I'm gonna check on Atticus, then see if there's any more cakes, you guys fix this place up and get more balloons, but not so many that they cover the floor from wall to wall."

"I'll go find more balloons." Bastion muttered as he followed Alexis outside.

"I'm getting a shower." Chazz announced as he went to his dorm. The only people that were left were Chumley and Jaden.

"Aw man," Jaden muttered,

XXXXXXXXXXX

_"Kuronu,_

_Come to the slifer cafeteria at 8:00 pm_

_Jaden"_

Kuronu closed her PDA as she walked to her door. _I wonder what Jaden wants._ She wondered as she neared the entrance. She opened the door to the girl's obelisk blue dorms and saw Zane leaning against the wall. "Z- Zane, why are you here?" She asked.

"I was told to escort you." He explained. Kuronu blushed. It had only been a bit more then twenty- four hours since they started dating.

"Do you know what Jaden wants me?" She asked as they began they're walk.

"Nope," He replied, smirking.

"You're lying." She concluded. Zane didn't say anything. Kuronu placed her fingers on the blue sapphire hanging around her neck as it was surrounded by white gold. The pendant hung from a white silk ribbon forming a choker. Kuronu looked up at the sky, it was already dark.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Alexis finally got to the infirmary the lights were out. There was only one person in the room, and that was Atticus; he was lying in the same bed he had been in for quite a while. She sat down in a chair next to him. "Atticus," She muttered. "There are only two shadow riders left, though it'd be a lot better if you were here in both mind and body.

"You miss him, don't you?" A mysterious voice asked. "But there is a way to get him back."

"Who is that?" Alexis asked as she looked around.

"I can give him all his memories back, if you beat me in a duel that is," The voice continued. Alexis stood up. "At the place where we first met, the abandoned dorm." Alexis's eyes went blank as shadow rose up and formed a portal.

Atticus's eyes suddenly opened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Vampire Genesis, attack him directly!" A huge vampire rose up and struck down a man. The man screamed as an electric shock coursed through his body, sending his life points to zero. The monsters disappeared as the beaten opponent lied on the floor, not moving. The victor- who was wearing a long black trench coat and a black cow boy hat- turned and exited the cage. Someone removed some bands from around her neck and arms. They then walked past several people and down several halls until they got to a stair case. The person walked up the staircase, out a door, and through several ally ways until they got to a bridge. It was raining.

They then took the hat off, black hair with blood red highlights flowed gently in the wind. Mallory leaned against the rail on the bridge and stared down at the rushing water beneath her. It was very dirty looking, and it seemed like it was going to flood soon from all the rain.

"I wonder if it's raining where 'he' is." She muttered. A strong wind suddenly blew the hat out of her loose grip. Mallory watched the hat as it sailed down into the water and sank, never to resurfes. "Would that happen to someone who fell in?" She smiled gently. The thought of jumping in almost amused her. "What torture it would be to someone who slipped by accident, trying so hard to get out, but the strong current rendering all feeble attempts of escape utterly useless." She mused. She straightened up and walked down the rode.

"Great, now I have to buy a new hat." She grumbled as the heavy rain fell on her.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Kuronu walked next to Zane, his PDA rang. He picked up and as a picture of Crowler appeared on the screen. "Zane, I need you to come do the infirmary right away." The man said, he looked worried.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked. Kuronu peered over his shoulder so she could see.

"I'll tell you when you get there, just hurry." Zane looked at Kuronu.

"I kind of have plans."

"Well those plans can wait!" Crowler told him.

"I wanna come!" Kuronu exclaimed. "I'm sure Jaden wouldn't mind if we were a bit late."

"Absolutely not!!" Crowler exclaimed. "You're father's already mad enough at me, no, you're not getting involved in this Miss Kaiba."

Kuronu sighed as she turned away. "Wait, you mean you've spoken to my father?!" She looked back at the screen as she placed both her hands on Zane's partially outstretched arm.

"W- Well, not exactly..." Kuronu grabbed the PDA from Zane.

"What did he say?!"

"I...I can't tell you that."

"Please, you have to! I need to know if I have to write my will or not."

"Sorry, but I'm too busy writing MY will!" Crowler covered his mouth after he said that.

"Wait, he wants to kill you??!!" The girl exclaimed. "Then that means he's furious at me!!" The two people then began to sob. A sweat drop slowly rolled down Zane's head. He grabbed the PDA from his sobbing girl friend.

"I'll be right there Dr. Crowler." He said as he closed it.

"Hey, we weren't done crying together yet." Zane sighed.

"Kuronu, you go ahead to Jaden, I'll be there soon." He told her.

"But I have to write my will."

An anger point appeared on the obelisks forehead. He place both his hands on Kuronu's shoulders, he forced himself to smile, though it was very crooked. Smiling when you clearly do not want to smile can be very difficult you see. "Kuronu, I'm quite positive that you're father will not kill you." Kuronu blinked, and then sighed.

"Well, if you're sure,"

"I am."

"Ok, I'll see you later then." Kuronu waved as she ran down the path. Zane watched her leave, and then ran down his own path.

When Kuronu got to the slifer dorms, she opened the cafeteria door. It was pitch black. "Hello?" She asked. No response. "Jaden? Syrus? Anyone?" Kuronu took a step forward, and then another, then another, she tripped over something. She slowly began to stand up, but banged her head on a table. "Ow!" She carefully scooted backwards, then put her hands on the table and slowly stood up. "If this is someone's idea of a joke, then they're gonna pay as soon as I find the light switch!!!...Now where was that light switch?...aw man."

She felt her way around until she found a chair. As she sat down, something popped, causing a loud bang. Kuronu screamed and fell forward into another table. "What the heck was that?! What is going on??!!" She cried. "It's dark, I'm cold, and I'm confused. I don't like being all alone in total darkness." She pulled her knees close against her. "Well, at least it can't get any worse. Suddenly lightning struck and thunder was heard. Kuronu flinched. Rain soon began to poor down.

"Great," She muttered. She buried her face in her knees. She then heard a soft squawking. She lifted her head and saw red eyes black chick. It squawked again. "I'm not exactly afraid of thunder or lightning," She began to tell it. "I just don't like it that much, especially when I'm all alone in this pitch black place." The spirit scowled as it squawked angrily. It flew around the girls head. Kuronu slowly smiled. "You're right, I'm not alone." The chick stopped in front of her and squawked happily. "I've got you here."

XXXXXXXXXX

_FLASH BACK_

_Mallory yelped as lightning flashed and thunder boomed. She covered her ears as she closed her eyes. She could faintly hear someone chuckling._

_"Mallory, are you scared of thunder storms?" Atticus asked as he sat down next to her. They were sitting under a large tree in the woods, waiting out a storm. _

_"Of course not!" She snapped, she crossed her arms and looked the other. Atticus laughed again. _

_"It's nothing to be ashamed of; lots of people are scared-"_

_"I'm not scared!" Lightning flashed again. Mallory closed her eyes again as she hugged her knees to her chest. She shivered. Her clothes and hair were soaking wet. She then felt something slightly heavy and wet being placed over her. Atticus was next to her, his blazer over her shoulders._

_"It's not much dryer then you're own clothes, but at least it isn't sleeveless." He told her. He then pulled her close to himself. "You don't have to be scared to admit your fears, because if you don't tell me what you're scared, how am I supposed to protect you from them?" A stupid, idiotic smile lined his face._

_END FLASH BACK_

Mallory clicked her lighter as a cigarette was in her mouth. She moved the flame closer to her mouth when a car suddenly zoomed by, splashing her with dirty water, extinguishing the flame. "Lovely," She muttered as she spit her cigarette on the ground. "I have dirty water in my eye sockets." She then looked up as it was still raining. "Damn you sky." Her clothes were soaked, though it didn't bother her much. She tilted her head to the right and saw Kaiba corp. tower above. She sighed, and then began to click her lighter. "Empty..." She watched several more cars drive by, each time splashing up water.

"Gosh I'm bored. Where are meaningless thugs for me to beat up when I need them?" Atticus's face suddenly appeared in her mind as she recalled a conversation with him.

_FLASH BACK_

_Atticus was building a tower with his duel monsters on a table in the library. "Aren't you bored?" Mallory asked him._

_"Not really. Yah, building card towers isn't exciting, but it keeps ones self occupied." Mallory blinked._

_"You're too easily amused." Atticus laughed._

_END FLASH BACK_

Mallory pulled out her deck and looked at it, then at Kaiba corp.

**KAIBA CORP.**

Haru and Hiro walked down the halls, each holding a stack of books. "Geez, we decide to come to work with dad to see what he does, and he makes us his slaves." Haru wined.

"Obsessive tyrant." Hiro muttered. Haru stopped and looked at him.

"What exactly is he obsessive with?"

Hiro pondered this. "Many things," he replied. The twins continued walking. "Though I was referring to work."

"Ah," Haru said. They soon got to the reference room. They walked past a few book shelves towards the back of the room where there behold, was Mallory sitting at a table. They're older sister was building some sort of tower with her cards. She was about to put one on when the twins dropped their books, and as the books fell, so did the tower.

Mallory slowly turned at glared at them. "What are you losers doing here?" She asked. The twins were speechless.

"What are WE doing here?" Hiro asked.

"What the heck are YOU doing here?!" Haru exclaimed. She turned her head and began to gather up her cards. The twins took a step forward when Mallory cast them another deathly glare.

"Don't come any closer; I don't need to catch your deadly disease that makes you worthless cretins." The twins stared at her. "I'm bored." She finally said. Haru and Hiro's jaws dropped.

"Then why aren't you beating people up?" Haru asked.

"Or have you 'eliminated' them all already?" Hiro inquired.

"No, just to wet out. By the way, do either of you simpletons have a lighter? Mine's out."

"Mallory, Mallory, Mallory, Mallory," The twins said in perfect unison. "Mallory...Mallory...Mallory, Mallory-"

"WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????" She screamed. The twins then totally ignored thier sisters demand of them not going any closer to her and put thier arms around her.

"Dear beloved sister," Hiro began.

"Whom we love ever so greatly," An anger point appeared on Mallory's forehead.

"Are you still over whelmed by so much sadness over you're dear love Atticus that you have stopped so low to drown your sorrows in those awful smelling sticks of smoke?" The twins asked in unison. Mallory slowly dissected that whole sentence in her head so she could understand what her brothers were talking about.

"If I say yes, will you go away and die?"

"No," The twins responded.

"Fine, then I'll have to get rid of you myself."

XXXXXXXXXXX

A woman with glasses was reading a report. As she walked past the reference room, the door opened and two figures were thrown out in front of her. They both looked rather beat. The woman looked up and walked around them.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe it was Banner," Syrus muttered.

"Yah, we'll have to talk to him tomorrow." Chazz decided. Alexis smiled as she held onto her brother's arm.

"Yah, but I'm just glad I have my brother back." She smiled at her older brother as he smiled down at her. Aw, what a lovely reunion. Atticus's memories had been fully restored due to Alexis beating Titan in a duel. It seemed as though noting could ruin the moment, until Zane remembered something.

"We forgot about Kuronu!" He exclaimed. Everyone stared at him for a moment.

"You're right!!" Jaden shouted, pulling his hair. "Zane, where was she when you went to meet Crowler?"

"I told her to go ahead to the slifer dorms...don't tell me you left before she got there." There was a pause.

"Ok, we won't tell you." Syrus finally said.

"Didn't we turn the lights out too?" Chumley remembered. There was silence, except for Chazz's snickers.

"So..." Atticus began. "Who's this 'Kuronu'? She your girlfriend Zane?" Atticus nudged Zane on the shoulder as they looked at Alexis's older brother weirdly.

"Actually...she is." Zane replied. Atticus's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?!'Cause I was just kidding!" Everyone continued to stare at him. "Since when have you been dating this 'Kuronu'?"

"Yesterday, now come on." The obelisk replied before running off, the others quick to follow.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu sighed. "Geez, what a weird day. First, no one remembers my birthday; my family didn't even call, and now this? What else could happen?" Suddenly the door sprang open and a burst of light filled the room.

"Uh, happy birthday!" Jaden called as he ran in.

"Ack!!" Kuronu screamed. "My eyes!!!" She shielded her eyes as she tried to stand up. "The light, it buuuuuuuuuuuuurns!!!" She fell over another table. Atticus stared at her.

"THIS is who you're going out with?" He asked Zane. Zane didn't reply. He only winced as he watched the girl. After much consideration, Atticus finally came to this conclusion about her. "She's cute. Not hot, but she has this cute klutzy attitude."

"Kuronu, are you ok?" Jaden asked as he walked over to her.

"Yah, I'm fine. The bright light just burned my eye balls out, that's all."

"So this is what happens when you sit in a totally dark room for hours and then turn the lights on." Syrus commented. "Wow, I feel bad for Kuronu."

Kuronu slowly opened her eyes. Jaden was in front of her, with Syrus, Chumley, Zane, Alexis, Chazz, Bastion, and...Some other guy. Balloons were every where, and streamers lined the ceilings. She turned around and saw a cake; hanging above it was a large banner that said 'Happy 16th Birthday Kuronu.' As she turned around, everyone called shouted: "Surprise!!" Kuronu blinked.

"What's going on?"

"Man, talk about blank with a capital 'B.'" Chazz commented.

"It's a surprise party, duh." Alexis informed Kuronu as she lightly punched her head.

"Oh neat!" Kuronu exclaimed. "I get it now, to make it even more of a surprise, you left me in here with all the lights out for hours." Everyone stared at her. Zane went over to her and put his arm around her.

"Sure, let's go with that." He told her. Kuronu was about to respond when a person with brown hair and big brown eyes was very close to her face.

"You look familiar," He said. "And Kuronu...hm, that name sounds awfully familiar as well."

"Zane," Kuronu whispered. "Who is this guy?"

"Atticus Rhodes, Alexis's older brother." He whispered back.

Atticus scratched his chin as he continued to stare at her. "Where have I seen you before?"

Zane sighed. "Atticus, do you remember Haru and Hiro Kaiba?"

"Oh boy do I!" Atticus replied. "You, Me, and those guys were always hanging out doing stupid stuff. Plus, they were Mallory's little bros." He slightly blushed at this.

"You mean you and they would do stupid stuff, you guys just dragged me along. But anyways, this is Mallory, Haru, and Hiro's little sister, Kuronu Kaiba." Atticus's eyes widened. He slowly looked back at Kuronu.

"I knew it!" He blurted out. "You have the same eyes as Haru, big dark blue, well, not dark, but darker then Mallory and Hiro's, that's for sure, especially Mallory's, hers were way ice cold." Atticus smiled. "Yah, I remember talking with Mal one time, both our younger sisters would come here to the academy the same year." Kuronu then remembered that Atticus and her sister used to have this 'thing' for each other. She wondered what he'd do if he found out that the woman he once loved was now half gothic, half psycho.

"How are those guys?" Atticus asked.

"Well, Haru and Hiro are pretty good," Kuronu replied.

"Are Haru and Maya still going out?"

"Kinda..."

"And Hiro and Tia?"

"Pretty much,"

"What about Mallory?" Atticus's eyes sparkled. Kuronu scratched her arm.

"She's...um...kinda different..." _How do I tell him that she's basically certifiably insane?_

"How different?"

"Um..."

"Who wants cake?" Jaden suddenly asked.

"Oh, I like cake!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"Me too, me too!" Atticus said as he jumped up and down. Alexis sighed.

"I've missed my brother so much that I've almost forgotten how much of a pain he can be." She said. Zane smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mallory stared out the window as it continued to rain.

_FLASH BACK_

_Mallory went to put another card on her card tower, when it suddenly fell over for the up- teenth time. "Screw this," She muttered as she went to brush all the cards off the table, when suddenly someone grabbed her hand._

_"You have to be gentler." Atticus told her. She glared at him. "Here let me show you." He then took both her hands and began to build a tower. In no time almost all the cards were stacked neatly in resemblance to a mini Tokyo tower. "Don't keep your hands so stiff." He told her. "You'll never be a good mother if you can't be gentler._

_"Who said I was going to get married?" _

_"Well, no one, but still,"_

_"Still what?" _

_"Um...I don't have an answer this time." Mallory rolled her eyes. _

_A little while later, they had finished building their tower. "Well, that was a complete waste of time." Mallory said as she stretched her arms. _

_"Not really. It took up quite a bit of time, especially since your still hands kept knocking over the tower." Mallory glared at him fiercely. "Uh, anyways, you got to admit, you aren't bored now."_

_Mallory sighed. "I suppose not...but it's still a waste of time." She was waiting for some stupid reply, but it never came. She turned around and saw that Atticus was twiddling his thumbs. "What?" She asked. Atticus took in a deep breath._

_"Ah, Mallory," He began. _

_"What?" He didn't reply. "Spit it out already!" An anger point appeared on her forehead. "You woose, if you got something to say, then say it before I have to make you-"_

_"Would you go out on a date with me!?" Atticus asked. Mallory blinked. There was a pause. "I'm trying to ask you out-"_

_"I'm thinking!" Mallory turned away as she crossed her arms. "Geez, you're such a looser," She muttered. Atticus's eyes became downcast. _

_"I'll take that as a no," He said._

_"Fool!" Mallory shouted. She walked back to him and whacked him over the head. "Don't just going around assuming things before you've heard the answer!" Atticus blinked. _

_"Does that mean...?"_

_"Fine, I'll go on a stupid date with you." Atticus slowly smiled._

_"Alright!" He punched the air. Mallory raised an eyebrow. "I- I mean...cool." He gave her a thumbs up. _

_END FLASH BACK_

Mallory turned around to see the Tokyo tower made up of cards sitting on the table. She then looked back out the window. "Fool," She muttered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authoresses note: Ok, I'll end it there. Kinda a useless chapter, but I hate the ones with shadow riders, they annoy me, I also hate the ones with duels, and I hate duels, which is why I need help with the next chapter. I have a VERY, VERY, VEEEEEEEEEEERY challenging duel, so I need a very, very, VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY good duel writer's assistance. If you wish to attempt this, e-mail me, and I shall tell you the contents of the duel and you can decide whether or not you to do it. Any who, please review, no harsh flames.


	43. The Spirit DayFestival

Authoresses note: Alrighty, thanks guys so much for your awesome reviews, now let's get this chapter started.

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Chapter 43: The Spirit Day Festival.

Zane, Atticus, Alexis, Bastion, and Jaden were standing on the second floor out side the slifer dorms. Syrus, and Chumley were putting paint on the ground to outline a duel arena. A large poster was by the dorms indicating that there'd be cosplay duels. Having just discovered that it was Banner who told Atticus and several other students that had disappeared to go to the abandoned dorm, they were now disappointed to find that Banner had gone missing now.

"I wish he hadn't gone missing like that," Alexis said as she leaned on the railing. "There are so many questions I'd like to ask."

"I have a question," Jaden said as he looked at Chazz waving around a stick type thing. "What's Chazz looking for?"

"His mind," Bastion began. "He's clearly lost it." Chazz glared at them.

"I'm looking for Banner's cat." He explained. "If we find the cat we'll find Banner, duh."

"'Duh' what?" Syrus asked as he came over. "Has Chazz lost his mind again?

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone was now looking at the poster Chumley had painted.

"It's not bad," Syrus commented. "Besides that Dark Magician guy in it."

"So who's gonna dress up as the Dark Magician Girl?" Atticus asked. Syrus pondered this.

"No one, it's just for advertising."

"You mean false advertising." Bastion told him.

"Hm, hadn't thought of that." Syrus realized. "I know, how about Alexis!" Everyone looked at the blonde girl.

"Sorry, I already have a costume." She said. "Jasmine, Mindy, and I are dressing up as the Harpie Lady Sisters." Syrus sighed. "Anyways, I have a better idea as to who your Dark Magician girl could be."

XXXXXXXXX

Syrus, Jaden, and Bastion stared dumbfounded at Dorothy as she was dressed in a Dark Magician Girl costume. "On what demented planet is this a better idea!?" Syrus exclaimed.

XXXXXXXX

Syrus sighed as he sat on the steps to the second level of the slifer dorm. "Who could I get to dress as Dark Magician Girl?"

"How about Kuronu?" Jaden suggested.

"Kuronu! Yah, if she put a wig on, she'd be perfect!" He looked around. "Um, where is Kuronu?"

"I haven't seen her all day." Bastion said. He then looked at Alexis, she shrugged. Everyone turned to Zane.

"...Why are you looking at me?" He asked. Syrus went up to close to him and cast him an evil smirk.

"Well, she is your girlfriend." Zane turned away as he slightly blushed. Suddenly Kuronu appeared behind him.

"Hey guys," She greeted. Everyone was startled.

"K-Kuronu, don't do that!" Syrus scolded.

"Do what?" She asked.

"Sneak up on us! You almost gave Zane a heart attack." Everyone looked at Zane. His arms were folded.

"He looks perfectly normal to me." Alexis concluded.

"Yah, well you didn't see him right when Kuronu came. His hair stood straight up. Look, his eye is still twitching." Everyone leaned in close to him.

"It is." Bastion said, his tone full of amazement and wonder.

"Could I have a little room to breath, please?" Zane asked.

"Sorry." Everyone said.

"Kuronu, where were you?" Jaden asked. Kuronu sighed.

"Yah, Chancellor Shepard had called me to his office..." She replied as she glanced around.

"Why?" Syrus asked. Just then three tall shadows cast over him.

"So this is what the slifer dorms look like," A woman said. Everyone looked up and saw Seto, Mokuba, and Meisha Kaiba. "It's rather... repulsive."

Kuronu sighed. "My family's here." She explained. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"It looks like an outhouse with a deck." He said.

"That's exactly what I said." Syrus commented.

"I can't believe you lived here." He continued. His gaze then turned to Zane. He slowly walked towards him. "Well, well, well, Mr. Truesdale," Kuronu gulped. Suddenly Seto was pushed over into a pile of mud. Meisha walked forward.

"Geez Seto, don't give the poor boy a heart attack!"

Zane raised an eyebrow. "'Poor boy?'" he asked. "And why do people keep mentioning me having a heart-" Meisha was suddenly very close to him. Her face inches from him.

"I'll put this simply," She began; a smile was on her face. "I think you and Kuronu are just so adorable together," Kuronu blushed.

"M- moooooooooooooooooom!"

"When I first saw you I thought to myself: 'He will be my baby's soul mate.'" Zane's eyes twitched. Kuronu's face got even redder, everyone else snickered. "But I shall warn you, if you break Kuronu's heart, I will break you." Zane could feel the color draining from his face.

"Uh, I understand, ma'am." Meisha then backed away.

"Oh good." She said. "Now, I need to sue Crowler for placing my dear beloved daughter in this horrible place." And with that she walked away. Seto sighed as he continued to wipe the mud off of his being.

"Hey, is that Fonda?" Mokuba suddenly asked. Everyone looked over and saw Fonda Fontaine.

"You know Miss Fontaine?" Kuronu asked her uncle. Mokuba smiled at her.

"Know her? I dated her." Kuronu gasped.

"You dated our gym teacher?!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"Yah, for three whole weeks!" Mokubu then turned around and waved to Fonda as he called her name. She looked over at him, blinked, and then cast him a glare before turning on her heel and walking away.

"She seems kinda angry." Jaden commented.

"Nah," Mokuba said. "She was glaring at Seto. She never liked him much. Well, I'll see you guys later." And with that he ran after the woman.

"Three weeks? That's it?" Kuronu asked.

"What are you talking about?" Seto asked her. "That's the longest relationship he's ever had." Kuronu's eyes became as big as dinner plates. "That's why he's not married." Kuronu was shocked.

"I am shocked." She said as she turned away. "I feel as though everything I once knew was a lie."

"Hey Mr. Kaiba," Atticus began. Seto swiftly cast him a piercing glare.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked.

"Um, I'm uh, I'm Atticus Rhodes, sir, and uh,"

"So you're Atticus, huh?" Seto said as he scanned him. "Hm, big chocolaty eyes, retarded smile," Seto began as he circled him. He muttered several more things about his appearance. "Yah, all this brings me to one conclusion: How in the world did Mallory end up falling for you?" Atticus blinked.

"Must be my charisma." He said. Seto raised an eyebrow. Clearly he did not believe that this Rhodes guy had 'charisma.' "Speaking of Mallory, is she here? And Haru and Hiro too, what about them?" Then from afar he heard his name being called.

**FIVE MINUETS AGO**

"Ah, how good it is to be back at the academy," Hiro commented.

"Yah, seems kinda fuzzy though." Haru said as he squinted around. Hiro looked at his brother, then at the scenery.

"Haru, nothing here is fuzzy." He explained. "But that is of no concern. Come! We must search out our loverly sister."

"Lets!" Haru agreed. "To the slifer dorms!" He then turned around and began to walk in the completely opposite direction then that of the slifer dorms. Hiro sighed, grabbed his brother's shoulder, and hauled him off in the correct direction.

After several minuets, they were but a few yards from the red dorm. "Wow," It's really...disgusting." Hiro commented.

"It looks bluer to me." Haru said as he squinted at the ocean. Hiro stared at him.

"Bro, the red dorm is behind you." He explained. Haru turned around.

"Oh yah, I see...wow, there's hair growing all over it." Hiro sighed. Just then, some thing, or more some one caught his attention.

"Haru, do you see that person there?" He asked.

"Um...no..."

"Oh...well, unless my eyes are deceiving me, or unless some magical spell has been placed upon them, it's Atticus!"

"Atticus? Oh, where? Where?" Hiro copied his brother and squinted at the far off figure.

"Great globs of green gravy!" Hiro explained. "It IS Atticus!"

"Atticus!!" Haru called, though he could still not see him.

"Atticus!!!" Hiro called, grabbing Haru's arm and running towards them.

Atticus looked over and saw two figures running towards them, calling his name. His eyes became all sparkly when he realized who it was. "Kaiba bros!" he called and ran towards them.

The threesome ran through a field of flowers in slow motion with a weird, pink, sparkly sky and a cheesy love song playing.

"Atticus!" Haru and Hiro called in unison.

"Kaiba bros.!" Atticus called back.

Everyone stared at them weirdly. "What are they doing?" Alexis asked as she watched her brother run in slow motion.

"I'm sorry Alexis." Kuronu said. "This is all my brothers fault.

Zane's eyes twitched. "Why did I hang out with those guys again?"

"I'm not sure," Syrus replied. "But thank goodness you didn't start acting like them."

"Amen." Jaden said as they all watched them.

The threesome came together and then hugged. A slifer near them stared at them. "You guys are queer!" He shouted, and then ran off.

"Oh they did not just hug!" Kuronu turned away at this.

"Do you have a gun?" Seto asked rather randomly. Zane looked at him, quite surprised at the question "Because if you do, please shoot me now."

"Sorry, I don't keep guns on me." Zane replied. While the boys had their little reunion, the others went back on the slifer deck.

"I'm sorry that my brothers have done this to Atticus, Alexis." Kuronu apologized as she watched her brothers and Atticus.

"It's not your fault." Alexis told her. "I'm just sorry that you have to live with them."

"I'm sorry too." Kuronu said as she began to cry on Alexis' shoulder. Zane, who was leaning against the rail next to Kuronu, patted his girlfriend's shoulder, and in return he got a glare from Seto Kaiba. Soon after Atticus, and the Kaiba siblings returned. They had their arms around each other as they laughed for no reason what so ever. Once they were up the stairs, they stopped.

Haru squinted. "Kuronu, is that you?" He asked. Kuronu looked around.

"Who else would I be?"

"Baby sister!!" The twins cried in unison as they both ran towards her with their arms out stretched. Hiro Embraced his sister as Haru ran right past until he fell over the railing at the other end. Everyone stared at the railing.

"What just happened?" Syrus asked. Seto sighed.

"We...think he needs glasses." He explained.

"Seriously?" Kuronu asked. Hiro then began to cry.

"No!!!!!He can not wear the thing called 'glasses'! Then it shall be easy for people to tell us apart." He cried.

"It's already easy for people to tell you guys apart!" Kuronu told him.

"Oh yah..."

"Um," Haru said. "A little help here." Everyone looked over to see Haru lying on the ground in weird position. "This is very uncomfortable." Atticus and Hiro went down to help him.

"Oh hey, it's almost time for the costume duel!" Syrus remembered.

"Hey Zane, I know what you should dress up as," Hiro said as he, Haru, and Atticus returned.

"Fairy King Truesdale!" Haru exclaimed. Everyone stared at them.

"That was not funny." Alexis said.

"Kuronu, will you dress up as the Dark Magician girl?" Syrus asked trying to ignore the image of Zane dressed up as Fairy King Truesdale.

"Why?" Kuronu asked.

"Well, because I need someone to do that, and you'd be almost perfect." Syrus explained.

"What do you mean by 'almost perfect'?" Kuronu asked. Syrus examined her.

"Well for one thing, your thighs are much thicker than the Dark Magician girls," Kuronu glared at him as she slightly blushed. "And your figure isn't as nice as hers, not to mention your eyes aren't as sparkly,"

"What do mean my eyes aren't sparkly? They're plenty sparkly!"

"Yah, but not as sparkly as Dark Magician girls'." Syrus sighed just thinking about her.

"But Dark Magician girl isn't even REAL!" Kuronu shouted at him. Zane placed his hand on the girls shoulder.

"How about we go take a walk." He suggested.

"You mean like a date?" Haru, Hiro, and Atticus all said together. An anger mark appeared on Zane's forehead. "Speaking of which," Haru began. "What kinds of dates have you guys gone on?"

"None." Zane replied. The twins gasped.

"We're on an island, w2hat do you expect." Kuronu told them. The twins looked at each other, then back at their sister.

"Being on an island gives you more of a reason to go on a date." Hiro told them. "There are all sorts of neat places here."

"Yah, like in the woods, there's this huge meadow with a lake and it's really awesome." Haru told them. "It's an awesome place to go on a picnic. That's where Mayazakie and I first ma-" He then noticed his father standing there, giving him that famous Kaiba glare. "First, uh, dueled." He said. "Yah, that's where we first dueled...and I won."

"I thought you lost the first time you dueled." Atticus said.

"Shut up!" Haru hissed. He and Hiro smiled 'innocently' and their father.

"Hey guys," Kuronu began. "When ever people smile 'innocently' like that, it really screams 'I'm freakin guilty.'" She explained. The twins glared at her, then smiled back at their father. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Come Kuronu," Zane said as he took her hand.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait!!!!!!!" The twins shouted. Kuronu blinked. "You can't go walking around in that hideous uniform." Haru told her. Kuronu looked down at herself. She was wearing her usual slifer uniform.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked.

"It's just like everyone else's." Haru told her. "I think," He said as he squinted. "What you need is some more Kaiba looking." Kuronu tilted her head to the side.

"Kaiba looking?" She repeated.

"Yes. All Kaibas wear trench coats." Hiro told her as he handed her a bundle of red. "So if you're going to be a slifer, you might as well be a Kaiba looking slifer." Kuronu took the clothes.

"Ok..." She stared at them. "It looks just like this uniform."

"Try it on!" The twins shouted. They turned her around and pushed her into one of the rooms and closed the door.

**5 MINUETS LATER**

Kuronu opened the door as she looked down at her new uniform. "Ooooooooooooooh," Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley all said as she approached them. Her blazer was buttoned up this time, so it looked like Zane's- with the tail things- only it was still sleeveless. Her skirt was the same in the front, only the back went down to a little above her ankles, and she had black shorts underneath that went a little above her knees. Her shoes were the same.

"Now isn't that more original?" Haru asked her.

"I suppose," She said. Her stomach then growled as she blushed.

"Sounds to me like you need a kuriboh dumpling." Bastion told her. "They're by the yellow dorm." He told her.

"Yosh!" Kuronu exclaimed. "Onto the Kuriboh dumplings." She grabbed Zane's hand and ran down the steps, and towards the yellow dorm.

"Ack!" Syrus cried. "We still need a dark Magician girl." He sighed.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu smiled as she bit off a piece of her Kuriboh dumpling. "Mmm, kinda hairy, but it's good." Zane chuckled. How she could eat a hairy dumpling, he would never know. "You know, this uniform is really quite neat." she said as they walked through the crowds of people.

"So," Zane began. "What did your dad do when he found you in your slifer uniform?" Kuronu stopped walking at looked at him. "Er, sorry, that's none of business." He apologized. Kuronu shook her head.

"No, it's ok." She said as began to walk again."To be honest, I don't know how he feels. He's pretty good at hiding his real emotions. He must be pretty annoyed, I mean, he told me I couldn't hang out with any of the slifers, or Alexis because she had a spirit key, but I do hang out with them." She finished her dumpling, and then bought a strawberry éclair ice cream bar. "I think he's mad at Dr. Crowler too, but I'm not sure."

"What about your mom?" Zane asked.

"She doesn't care, though I think she'd be upset if she found out that I had my soul taken away." Zane remembered that horrible empty stare. He looked down at her sparkling blue eyes. That had been the day he realized her loved her. Kuronu looked up at him.

"What?" She asked. "What's with that weird smile?" Zane shook his head.

"It's nothing." He told her. He then put his arm around her. "Come on, they have ramen over there."

"Oh, ramen!" Kuronu exclaimed as she ran over to the stand. Zane smiled fondly at her. He then recalled what Haru and Hiro had told him.

_"In the woods, there's this huge meadow with a lake and it's really awesome. It's an awesome place to go on a picnic."_

XXXXXXXXX

Atticus, Haru, and Hiro stood on the second floor to the red dorm as they watched Jaden duel the mysterious Dark Magician Girl. "He's pretty good." Atticus commented. The twins smirked as they recalled Jaden's duel against Kuronu. True, the slifer had lost, but it was still an amazing duel.

"He wants to be the next king of games you know." Hiro said. Atticus smiled.

"He's still got a long ways to go." He said. Something then caught his eye. He walked over to the edge- where Haru and fallen off- and saw someone walking by the cliff. It seemed as though the person was wearing a black trench coat. It wasn't Mr. Kaiba, he had gone to find Meisha, and he was wearing a white trench coat.

"Hey Atti," Haru began. He looked over at his friend. "Whatcha doin Atti?" He asked. The twins walked over to where he was standing. His eyes were serious. "Atticus?" Haru asked as he waved his hand in front of Atticus' face.

"That," He began. The twins followed his gaze. They both cringed.

"Ah, nothing to see here," Hiro said quickly.

"Let's watch Jaden's duel, it seems to be heating up!" The twins grabbed his arms and tried to pull him away, but he wouldn't move.

"Mallory," He whispered.

"Oh crap." The twins said in unison. Atticus swiftly turned around and walked towards the stairs. "Ah, Atti!" Haru called. "You don't wanna see Mal, she's, er, cranky."

"Really cranky!" Hiro added, but Atticus ignored them. The twins then tackled him and they fell from the second floor all the way to the ground.

"What are you guys doing?" Atticus asked. "I want to see Mallory." He stood up, but the twins hung onto his legs.

"No, don't go!"

"You'll regret it!"

"What. Are. You. Guys. Talking. About?" Atticus asked as he slowly walked despite the weight of the twins on his legs.

"Please, don't do this, we're begging you!" They cried. People looked at them weirdly as Atticus trudged by with the twins hanging onto his legs.

"Um," Bastion said as Alexis- who was standing next to him- crossed her arms and looked away.

"I don't know, and I don't think I want to know." She said.

Atticus finally kicked the twins off, and then took off running towards the woman. "Atticus, wait!" Hiro called.

"Mal, she's different! Really different!" Haru shouted, but he ignored both of them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mallory stared down at the ocean. Her black coat flowing in the wind. A black cow boy hat rested on her head. "Mallory!" She heard someone call. The name ringed in her ears as she slowly turned around. Standing a few feet away was a boy with slightly long brown hair and deep brown eyes. He was panting, but smiling.

The wind blew her hat away, rustling her black hair with blood red high lights. She stared at the person before her, her eyes wide.

"Mallory," Atticus said again. "It's me, Atticus." He took a step towards her; she took a step back, her expression now angry. "What's wrong?" He asked. Mallory turned away as she closed her eyes. Atticus then noticed the scar going across her left eye. He walked closer to her as he looked her up and down. Her normally brown hair was now black with blood red highlights, and she was dressed in all black.

"Mallory," He whispered as he lifted his hand to her face. He went to place her hand on her cheek as he stared at her left eye; she then grabbed his wrist and cast him a deathly glare with her ice blue eyes. She still said nothing. She released his hand as he pulled it back. "Mal, what's wrong? You're not acting like yourself at all." There was a long pause.

"Leave," She finally said. Atticus was taken aback by this. Mallory turned so her back was facing him, and she now gazed out into the ocean again. "The girl you once knew...is dead." The wind blew as Atticus stared her in shock and confusion.

"W- Why? Mal, what's happened to you? I don't understand,"

"Listen Atticus Rhodes, and listen well, I'm only explaining this once: I'm no longer the person you once knew, you want nothing to do with me as I want nothing to do with you. Time has passed, things have changed, so do what I did, and move on." Her voice was cold and emotionless. Atticus stared at her.

"Mallory...is this because of me? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just up and disappear on you, I...I can't just move on, I love you Mal," Mallory whirled around.

"You love me? And what is that supposed to mea?! Atticus, you vanished two years ago, what were you expecting to happen when we met again?" Atticus bit his lip. "Were you expecting to just pick things up where we left off, and everything would be as it once would? Well sorry to pop your little bubble, but things don't work that way. I'll say it one more time, MOVE ON." The two stood there in silence for several moments, and then Mallory turned at walked past him. Atticus closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He then reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Mal, I'm sorry, I didn't know that you had been hurt so much, and I'm sorry, it's all my fault your like this." Mallory stared at him, his eyes were determined. "You told me to move on, well I can't do that, yah, maybe things wont ever be the same, but do you really think that I'm just going to let you go so easily?" Mallory narrowed her eyes.

"If you won't let go, then I'll make you." Before Atticus knew what had happened, Mallory's foot was now against his stomach. The boy flew back a few feet as he coughed up a small clot of blood. He landed on his back, unable to move. Mallory put her foot gently back on the ground. She then walked over and stood above him. "You're love is of no importance to me anymore, you can't save me twice." Atticus' vision slowly began to fade. His eyes closed, and then when they opened, he could no long see Mallory.

"Mal, no... I'm sorry." Everything went dark as he heard the twins call his name.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuronu slightly blushed as she and Zane walked along the beach, the sun was just beginning to set. They gone on several of the rides that the obelisks had set up. It could pretty much be considered their first date, but Kuronu didn't want to since there were lots of other people around. Zane stopped walking as he squeezed her hand tighter.

"What's wrong?" Kuronu asked. He was looking at the orange sun that was beginning to set behind the ocean.

"Nothing, we should probably just go back soon, that's all." He said. He looked down at her. He played with her hand for a while as he stared into her eyes. Kuronu blushed.

"Yah, I guess we should go back soon." Just then an image of her brothers popped into her head.

_"How was your date?" Haru asked._

_"Did ya kiss?" Hiro asked._

Kuronu shook her head. _Yah right, like we'd kiss._ She was brought out of her day dream when Zane placed his hand on her cheek; she looked up at him, her eyes instantly met with his. _Then again,_ she thought to herself. Zane leaned forward, their noses brushed against each other as their lips were inches apart, and then,

"Hey Kuronu!" Jaden called. Kuronu fell over into the water and a huge wave came, drenching her with salt water. Jaden, who was up on the cliff above the beach looked down. "There you guys are," he called. Zane glared at him as he helped Kuronu up. She was muttering curses.

"Jaden Yuki," She began. "You baka!!!" She shouted as she waved her fist at him. "Aho! Oh, just wait till I get my hands on you, you are going to PAY!!!!!" Zane placed his hands on her shoulders as she tried to run where Jaden was.

"Calm down Kuronu." He told her. Jaden blinked.

"Ok, not sure why she's angry at me," Jaden said. Zane sighed. How oblivious could one person be? "But it's almost time for the bon fire, come on!" Kuronu sighed as she stopped 'running'.

Zane and Kuronu returned to the slifer dorms. They saw Syrus looking around. "Hey Sy, what'cha looking for?" Kuronu asked.

"That Dark Magician Girl is gone," He said.

"Who'd you get to dress up as her?" Zane inquired.

"That's the problem," Syrus said. "I don't know." He sighed. "And now I can't find her anywhere, and she was so cute too." Zane rolled his eyes. He still couldn't understand how Syrus could be so in love with a card. Kuronu looked up onto the second floor of the red dorm and saw Atticus. He was leaning against the end railing. His expression seemed much more serious then before.

"Did something happen to Atticus?" She asked as her brothers approached her. "He looks...different and his uniform is kind of dirty too."

"He had a run in with Mallory." Haru explained. Kuronu and Zane stared at him.

"And...What happened?" Zane asked.

"She kicked him in the stomach." Hiro told them. They both winced.

"But that's not what's bothering him," Haru began. "He feels like it's his fault she's like this."

"Poor guy," Kuronu muttered. She saw Alexis walk over to him.

_She's right,_ Atticus thought to himself as he stared at the setting sun. _I couldn't save her again, but did I...did I even save her the first time, or just force her to live a life full of emptiness? _

"Atticus?" Alexis said as she walked over to him. "Are you ok?" Her brother shook his head.

"I'll be fine; I'm worried about Mal...I've caused her so much pain and-"

"That's enough!" Alexis crossed her arms. "It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault its professor Banner's, he's the one that called you to the abandoned dorm. Stop being so hard on yourself, I'm sure Mallory was just a bit over whelmed by seeing you for the first time in two years. Now come on, there's roasted marshmallows." Atticus smiled at his sister; he then followed her to the large fire that had just recently been made.

Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine were dressed up as the Harpie Lady Sisters. Mokuba sighed as he held an ice pack to his head.

"What happened to you?" Chazz asked him.

"Ah, nothing, just a word of advice: Don't a woman who knows karate for three weeks, then dump her, and then a few years later come back and tell her she's cute." Mokuba said. Chazz stared at him like he was some sort of moron.

"You're a moron," He said. "And here I thought you were supposed to be some sort of dating genius."

All the girls swarmed around Haru and Hiro as hearts flew out of their eyes. "Oh my gosh, they are soooo hot." One girl said amongst all the others.

"Ladies, please, there is more then enough of us to go around." Hiro said as he had his arm around Haru's shoulder.

"Hm, yes, you're all so cute, so please share us, for we also want you as much as you want us." Haru told them, which led to many of them fainting.

"They want me," One girl cried before loosing consciousness.

Seto buried his face in his hands. "They're your sons." He said as Meisha sat down next to him.

"Oh no, they're YOUR sons." She said.

"No, I demand that they're your sons." This continued for a while.

"And just think," Alexis said as she stood in front of Zane. "They could end up being your in laws." Zane's face turned a dark red.

"W-what? That's ridiculous." He said. Alexis laughed.

"Speaking of the Kaibas, where's Kuronu?" Zane looked around.

"Oh she went to change." Jaden said having heard their conversation. "Something still wanting to dress up." Syrus then appeared next to him, he looked rather dazed. He sat down next to his brother and stared at the fire, his hand on his cheek.

"Are you ok Syrus?" Alexis asked. The boy sighed.

"Dark Magician Girl kissed me." He said. Zane scooted away from him. He then saw a shadow stand over him. He turned around and saw Kuronu, dressed up as Magician's Valkyria.

"How do I look?" She asked, slightly spinning around.

"Dark Magician Girl is cuter." Syrus said, still in a dazed tone. Everyone rolled their eyes. Zane then smirked as he turned away.

"I can't argue with him there," He said. Everyone looked at him. "Dark Magician Girl is waaaaaaaaay cuter." He teased. Kuronu glared at him.

"H- hey! That's so mean Zane, you're my boyfriend, and you're not allowed to say things like that!" She told him. "Now tell me what you really think." Zane laughed, followed by Alexis, Syrus and Jaden. Kuronu sighed as she turned away. "My boyfriend thinks a card is cuter than me, wow that's depressing."

Zane grabbed her hand before she was too far away and pulled her around in front of him. He then pulled her down onto his lap and put his arms around her. Kuronu blushed as Zane rested his chin on top of her head. Alexis cleared her throat rather loudly, and then once she had Syrus and Jaden's attention, nodded her away, motioning for them to leave. Jaden began to follow Alexis, while Syrus went to his brother puckered his lips, teasing his brother about kissing Kuronu. Zane glared at him. Jaden and Alexis chuckled as Syrus ran away from his brother.

"Hey Kuronu," Zane began. "How about we go on a date to that lake your brothers told us about some time?" Kuronu smiled and nodded.

"Yah, I'll pack a picnic lunch." She said. Zane blinked. He remembered the cake that she and Jaden had tried to make.

"Um, or we could have someone else make lunch," He suggested. Kuronu glared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. Zane smiled.

"Uh, less time you spend cooking, the more time we get to be together, right?" Kuronu's expression softened as she turned back to the fire, resting her head on Zane's chest.

Atticus smiled at the two. _Zane, I must admit I'm jealous of you. Jealous that you can have such a good relationship with the girl you love, that you were able to save her from despair and loneliness, something that I could never do for Mallory. Promise that you won't fall into darkness as I did; leaving the person you cherish most behind, sending her spiraling into emptiness. Promise me and promise Kuronu you won't do that, ok? _He looked up at the sky as it was filled with stars. "Mallory," He whispered.

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Authoresses note: Well, I'll end it there. Now, in the last chapter I said I needed someone to right me a duel, well, I took that duel out, it was too hard, and the chapter was already too long, if I had done the duel, the chapter would probably be about 20 pages long. I apologies to people who just now discover my story and stay up all night reading it, but what can I say, I have a lot to write and a million ideas in my head. Any who, please review, no harsh flames. Oh yes, in the chapter I used the words 'baka' and 'aho', for anyone who doesn't know, that's 'idiot' and 'fool' in Japanese.


	44. Mallory's day out

authoresses note: Ok, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay sorry for not updating in so long, but it's not because of my laziness this time! Our computer broke, sooooooooo I am currently at my friend's house. SO I'm sorry for horrible spelling and even worse grammar in the next 3 chapters cuz I don't got spell check on my computer, and neither does my friend, so I'll fix it as soon as our computer is fixed...if it gets fixed. sorry.

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Chapter 44: Mallory's day out

Mallory sat on a window seat in the library, staring at the floor. Books were lying on the floor every where. She closed her eyes as she slowly stood up. She stepped over the mess of books towards the door.

XXXXXXX

Haru and Hiro stepped out of thier rooms, both with wet hair, no shirt- only pants on- and a towl slung over thier shoulders. "Shall we gove for our anual once a month hair cut, brother?" Hiro asked.

"Lets," Haru replied. "But first I have to retrn this book to the library before Mal finds out." He held up a manga with a girl in a swim suit on the cover. Hiro gasped.

"You took a book from the library with out Mallory's permission?! That was stupid, especially now, you know how she's been acting weirder then usual."

"I couldn't help it." Haru said. "The girl on the cover was so cute, look at her."

"She is kinda cute." Hiro agreed. "But whatever, let's hurry up and return the book. The twins sneakily snuck towards the library.

"Sneakily," Haru whispered, followed by a laugh. "Sneakily," he repeated. The word amused him. They soon got to the end of the hall way, t the right was the door to the library, to the left, a large window, and standing in front of that window was,

"Mallory!?" Hiro hissed. "Hide the book!" Haru tossed to the book to his brother, Hiro tossed it back, this continued for a moment until Mallory glanced at him. Haru shoved the book in his pants.

"Hey sis." He said, trying to sound innocent. Mallory just looked out the window, she was holding her left elbow with her right hand. "Are you ok?" She closed her eyes.

"Today...is the second worst day of my life." She muttered.

"Why, what happened?" Hiro asked worridly.

"I," Mallory began, the twins leaned in closer. "I've..." They were now leaning on thier tip- toes. "I've read every book in our library." The twins fell over. "It's very depressing," She continued. "I'm going to go commit seppuku." The twins jumped up and grabbed onto thier older sister.

"Don't it!" Hiro cried.

"Not because of a bunch of books!" Haru pleaded.

"Just go to the public library!"

"The...public library?" The woman inquired. "You mean that dirty civilian place with dirty civilian books on dirty civilian shelves?"

"Yup," Haru said.

"That's the one."

"Fine," Mallory finally said. The twins sighed a sigh of relief.

"Oh yah," Haru began. He pulled out the book from his pants. "Here, I borrowed this." Mallory looked at the book, then at her brother. She pulled out her lighter and set the book on fire.

"You two are the cause for much of my pain." She said as she walked past them.

Hiro whistled. "Talk about emotional. Who commits seppuku just because they've read all the books in the library?"

"Mallory appearently." Haru said. Hiro glanced down at his brothers hand.

"Um, you do realize your holding a flaming book, right?" Haru looked down. They stared at the burning book for a moment. Hiro then disapeared, then quickly returned. He had goggles over his eyes and some big tank/ gun thing over his shoulder. He pulled a trigger and vast amount of water was shot at Haru. Haru stood there for a moment, soaking wet.

"Why did you have a massive water gun in your room?" He asked.

"Why do you have a flame thrower in your room?" The twins stared at each other for a moment.

XXXXXXXX

"So, why are we here again?" Jaden asked as he, Kuronu, and Syrus entered the reference room.

"Because," Syrus began. "We have to do a report on an event that ocered at the academy." He explained.

"That's a drag." Jaden said as he put his hands behind his head.

"Ditto," Kuronu agreed as she sat down in a chair in front of a computer. Jaden and Syrus did the same as they began to surf trrough the many academy files.

"Hey Sy," Jaden began. "There's a whole file on your bro and his 'amazing dueling skills.'"

"Are you serious?" Syrus asked as Kuronu finished with the second computer. He sighed. "I bet they'll never put a file about me, unless it's one about 'How I'm no where near as good a duelist as my brother, the great Zane Truesdale, and how I disgraced him.'"

"That's not true," Kuronu said.

"Yah it is, he even lossed a duel to save me." Syrus said. Kuronu remebered Camula and how she had taken Zane's soul away.

"I wonder if I'll ever get a file about me." Jaden wondered. "That'd be pretty sweet." Kuronu sighed. There were a million files, and some were unnamed, so you had to read a bunch of it to understand what it was about. They found files on the missing students from the abandoned dorm, different events, and a started file on the shadow riders. There was a file on how the school was built with lots of different pictures of construction, and blue prints.

"I think I'll do my report on how the school was built." Syrus announced.

"Cool, I'm doing mine on who the food is shipped here and how out dated some of the slifer food is." Jaden said. "What about you Kuronu?" She didn't respond. "Kuronu?" The boys looked over. Kuronu was staring at the white screen. They walked over to her.

"Kuronu, what's wrong?" Syrus asked. She had a weird look on her face. The boys looked at a screen, an open file was up. "Hey, it's called Mallory Kaiba." Syrus noticed. But that was only part of it. The full title was printed at the top of the page in bold print. It read:

**Mallory Kaiba: Attempted Suicide**

The two boys gulped as they began to read it, though it was only about a paragraph long.

_"It was reported that on the evening of December 23, Mallory Kaiba tried to commit suicide. How she tried this is unknown, and the report was sent in my an anonymis person. When asked about it, Miss Kaiba said that she had no idea what were talking about and denide any such attempt. So was this attempted suicide just something that someone made up, or is it actually true? We may never know."_

"That's kinda creepy." Syrus said, breaking the ice cold silence that had filled the room.

"Do you think it's true?" Jaden asked, glancing at Kuronu. Her face seemed a bit pal.

"I...I don't know." She replied. "But I bet I know someone who would." She got up from the chair and ran out of the room, Jaden and Syrus were quick to follow.

XXXXXXXXX

Mallory stared at the building in front of her. People were walking in and out, some with books in their arms. She narrowed her eyes, then slowly walked in. People were walking all around, looking at books on shelves and some were slowly burning their eye balls out as they stared at bright white computer screens. She looked over and saw two kids, fighting over a book. Each was pulling obe of it's cover, when it suddenly ripped.

Mallory winced. A pain shot through her heart as the kids dropped the torn book and ran. "What kind of place is this?" She asked herself aloud. Where ever she looked, she saw people abusing books. "Disgusting civilians." She muttered. She walked over to a desk where a woman stood people it.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked, a bit startled by Mallory's 'dark' appearence.

"Tell me where the angst novels are." She answered.

"Ah, right this way miss." The woman led her to a small shelf where about ten books were stacked. "Here are all the angsty type books." Mallory stared at the pitful sectuion, not blinking.

"I've read all these." She said. "And they all suck. Show me where you keep your depressing poetry." The woman slightly laughed, obviously freaked out by this person.

"O- of course." so she led Mallory ofver to a larger section. Mallory was almost pleased, until the woman selected about five books. "These books hold a few 'depressing' poems, so you'll have to dig through all the nice love poems." Mallory's eyes narrowed,

"In those five books, there's a few poems I want to read," The woman nodded. "And all the rest are love poems?" Again, the librarian nodded. With one swift swoosh, Mallory nocked the stack of books out the womans arms. "Your library sucks, you suck at life, and you have bad breath, I'll find what I want myself." And with those words, she walked away. The woman stood there for a moment, speechless, then fell to the floor sobbing.

After several minuets of scanning books, Mallory sighed. "I've read every book here, and more. Isn't there a book that I haven't read?!"

"Shh-" People began to say, only to stop abrutly when they were glared at. Suddenly, a woman dressed in pright colors was standing next to her. She had a huge smile on her face.

"What seems to be the problem Miss?" She asked. Her teeth were sparkling white, slightly blinding Mallory.

"Your library sucks." She said, pulling the rim of her hat down to sheild her eyes from the bright light ommiting from the womans mouth.

"How spiffy!" She replied. Mallory's eye twitched. Did she just say spiffing at the fact that her library sucked? "You should really wear happier colors, not just that ugly black." She then tried to take Mallory's hat off, only to have hand slapped. "You know...you'd look so cute in pig tails! Oh yes, I can just see you in pretty pink dress with glowers on it, oh you'd look so adorable." Mallory gritted her teeth, trying as best she could to keep that horrible image out of her mind.

"Oh gosh, please die." The woman moved her index finger pack in forth as she made a clicking sound with her mouth.

"Oh, you should say such depressing thing like that, it's not good for your heart you know."

"What little heart that I have is a block of stone, I doubt wishing you to die would make it any worse." She said as she walked away. After walking for a while, she stopped and closed her eyes. There was one section of books she had not read, but only in a truely desperate situation would she read them.

Was this situation desperate? Well let's see, she had read every book in her library, every book in the civilian library, and there was a creepy happy lady stalking her, yah, this was a desperate situation.

She opened her eyes and looked over. Lots of little kids were sitting in little chairs at little tables reading little books.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu looked down at Atticus as he slept under a tree. She cleared her throat, he didn't respond. Jaden and Syrus came up behind her, slightly out of breath from running. Kuronu cleared her throat again, this time much louder. Atticus opened his right eye.

"Oh, hey guys," He said. He stretched his arms as he sat up straight. "What's up?" Kuronu bit her lip.

"Um, Atticus, I have a question."

"Shoot," He said as he listened intently.

"Well...um..." How exactly was she going to ask this? She sighed. "Did Mallory ever try to commit suicide?" She blurted. She was surprised to see that Atticus' expression had become very serious, completly different from what it had been a moment ago.

"How do you know about that?" He asked. Kuronu suddenly felt like someone had punched her in the stomach and hit her over the head with a large rock. She could feel the color drain from her face.

"Y- you mean..." Syrus began, as shocked as Kuronu was.

"It's true?" Jaden finished. Atticus slowly nodded.

"Again, how do you know about that?"

"There was a small file on a computer in the refrence room." Kuronu explained. "It didn't have any details, it just said that some had reported that Mallory tried to commit suicide, but they weren't sure it it was true or not."

"Well I certainly didn't tell anyone, I doubt even your parents know, actually, I'm sure they don't know. Mal made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'm certain that she wouldn't tell anyone." He said. Kuronu clenched her fists.

"Could...could you maybe tell us about it." Kuronu inqured. Atticus closed his eyes. "I wouldn't tell anyone, I just want to know."

"Same ehre, we wouldn't tell anyone either." Jaden said quickly. Atticus sighed.

"I suposes...since you already know about it..." The three quickly sat down. Atticus looked out at the ocean. "Ok, it was my first year here, Mal's second. It was a few days before Christmas I think. I was taking a walk down near the harbor, when I saw someone standing by the light house. It was dark, but I could see a little bit from the light that the light house gave.

It looked like the person had their wrists tied to together, and their feet tied together, and a blind fold on. At first, I had no idea what to take this as, maybe it was just dark, and I only though I saw those things when really there weren't there, when suddenly the person just leaned forward and fell in. At first I didn't realize what had happened, but then I just found my self running. i kicked off my shoes and through off my blazer and dove in the water. I swam down and grabbed the person and pulled them back up, it was then that I discovered it was your sister, Mallory."

XXXXXXXXX

Mallory could feel several sets of eyes staring at her. She slowly lowered her book and saw about half a dozen kids staring at her with their huge, freaky bug eyes.

The children stared at her, it was a very strange site to see in deed. A young woman with black hair and blood red high lights, dressed in a black, sitting in a tiny kiddie chair reading a kids book entitled 'Charlie the Unicorn Goes to Candy Mountain'. She glared at them.

"Beat it." She said, they didn't move, in fact they didn't even blink. Her eyes narrowed. "I said scram, twerps."

"Um," One little boy said, his hands were behind his back. "Es-cuse me miss," He began as he slowly walked towards her. "Could you, um, could, um, could you pwease, um," As he spook, spit flew everywhere, including on Mallory's face.

_What is with little kids and saying 'um' every other word and then repeating the last sentence they siad ten times? Gosh I hate kids._ She thought to herself.

"Could, um, please, um, please,"

"SPIT IT OUT!!" She hollored. "I'm trying to read my book here!"

"Could you please, read us a, a, um, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, um, um, a, um, a, a," This continued for a while longer. "A, um, um, a stoooooooooooooooooooooooryyyyyyyyyyy?" The kid finally pulled out a book from behind his back.

"Read us a story, read us a story!" All the other kids exclaimed as they threw thier hands in the air. An anger point appeared on Mallory's forehead.

"NO!" She screamed. "Now get lost, I hate you, I hate you all." She looked back to her unicorn book. As she read, she felt the presence of eyes staring at her. She lowered her book and found the kids staring at her, now with sad puppy dog eyes, her eye twitched. "Fine! I'll read you BEEP story." She grabbed the book from the kids hand.

"Yay!" The all exclaimed. THey all sat down around her. Mallory sighed.

"'Once upon a time, there was a pink, happy bunny who lived in a magical forest full of happiness and joy'..." She looked up. "Oh gosh, someone please kill me." She muttered. "' The happy bunny was a magical bunny who loved pomagranits,'..." She looked up again, then down at the kids who had ginormous smiles on their faces as they stared up at her with big sparkly eyes. "Do you freaks even know what pomagranits are?" She asked, they shook their heads, still smilling. "'The pink, happy, magical bunny also loved tofu,' What the heck?!" She tossed the book across the room.

"What kind of bunny loves pomagranits and tofu?!"

"I'll go get another book!" A girl said as she ran off.

"No, no more books!" but the girl had already disapeared. Mallory looked down, all the other kids were still smilling at her. Mallory sighed. "Look kiddies, it's been...interesting, but I have to go now." She began to stand up and walk away, but all the kids grabbed onto her legs.

"No, don't go, read us more stories!" They cried.

"No, no more books! I'm leaving, I hate this place, and I hate all of you!" Several people glared at her, murmering thing like 'what kind of person would tell children that they hate them?' and things like that. The little girl that had run off to find a new book emerged. She was running towards the woman with the book held in front of her.

XXXXXXX

_Atticus quickly cut the rope with a pocket knife that was binding the girl's hands and feet. As he went to take of the blind fold, and a fist flew up into his face, knocking him back. The girl ripped off the blind fold and cast a muderous glare. "What do you think your doing?" She asked coldly._

_"What do I think I'm doing? What do you think your doing?! Don't you realise that you could have died?" He asked. The girl stood up and glanced back at him._

_"Maybe that was point." She whispered. Atticus' eyes widened._

_"Y- you mean...you did that...on purpouse?" She didn't respond for a moment. _

_"I suggest you go back to your dorm immediatly, this is something you don't want to get involved in." She began to walk away when Atticus grabbed her hand._

_"Too late, I'm already involved." He said stubernly. She glared at him. After a moment of silence, Atticus eventually decided to press the matter."Answer me this: What could have possibly happened to you for you to believe this was the only way out?" She only continued to glare at him. "What about your family? They-"_

_"Wouldn't care." The girl said. She turned away and closed her eyes. "They have their precious Kuronu, I am no longer of any value to them, nor have I been for the last ten years." The boy was now speechless. _

_"But...I- I'm sure that's not true! "_

_"And how would you know? You don't know my family, you don't know what they're like. You know __nothing!__" She yanked her hand away from him and cast another glare. "Now if you'll excuse me," She turned away again. "I have to go find some more rope." She began to walk away again._

_"Wait!" Atticus called. The girl stopped, very annoyed at this point. "Please, please don't do this."_

_"Why do you care so much?" She asked suddenly. "What is your reason for trying to keep me from my watery grave?" He thought about this for a moment._

_"Well, for one thing, I'd never be able to live with myself if I just let you walk away." He clenched his fists as his eyes became downcast. "And... I- I don't know, I just think your making your disission about this too quickly, you have a whole life ahead of you, and who knows, things could get better, but you'll never know that if you don't try, right?" Neither of them spoke for a moment. The wind blew the girls long brown hair around as she thought about his words._

_"And what are you going to do about this?" She asked._

_Atticus took in a deep breath. "Well, after much consideration, I've decided..." The girl stared at him out of the corner of her eye. "I'll be your best friend!" He announced. The wind blew again. The girl stared at him. "I'll be your best friend! I'll follow you where ever you go, I'll make sure the rest of your life is worth living, I promise!" _

_"Everywhere I go?" She asked she raised an eyebrow._

_"Yes, You'll never have to be alone again."_

_"Even to bed?" Atticus nearly fell over. "Will you follow me when I take or shower, or-"_

_"Ok, not everywhere," He said quickly. "But you know what I mean." _

_"The smartest person in the world could never understand what you mean, but I get the idea. So tell you what, since your so set on this idea of yours, I'll give you one chance, ONE, to show me that my life is worth living." Atticus smiled the biggest smile the girl had ever seen. "Though some how I get the feeling hanging out with you is just going to make want to die even more." She muttered._

_"You wont regret it," Atticus said happily. "I'll stick to you like penut butter!" He4 exclaimed. The girl looked at him._

_"I hate penut butter." She said. Atticus froze._

_"Uh, ok, then, I'll...I'll stick to you like the gum on your shoe!" He said, his arm outstretched and his index finger pointing at the brown haired girl. She raised an eyebrow._

_"You want to be stepped on?" She asked in her usual mono tone."_

_"Gah, that's not what I mean either." He scratched the back of his head. "Sheesh, who knew metafores could be so hard. But whatever. This is gonna be so cool, we can duel each other, and go fishing together, and play tennis together, and each lunch together, and buy cards together, and duel each other some more," He went on and on about the stuff they would do together, _

_"Can I go now?" The girl asked him impatiently. Atticus stopped talking immediatly._

_"Oh, sorry, I was mostly talking to myself there, I'll see you tomorrow, uh, um...what was your name?" he asked as he scratched the back of his head. The girl rolled her eyes._

_"Freshmen," She muttered. She closed her eyes for a moment and smirked. "Mallory, Mallory Kaiba." Atticus blinked as he stared at her. He had heard many things about her, that she was possibly even colder than her father. All that had taken place in the last several minuets made sense now. "Well, still feeling up to the challenge?" She asked as she crossed her arms. "Can you, or can you not make a Kaiba's life worth wile." Atticus smiled._

_"I can definatly do it, you'll see." Mallory turned to leave. "Bye Mal," He waved happily with a huge smile on his face as she walked away._

_'What a freak,' She thought to herself._

_END FLASH BACK_

"That's it?" Kuronu asked.

"That's it," Atticus said.

"So...what happened after that?" Syrus asked. Atticus scratched his chin.

"Well, we just started hanging out together, at first Mal didn't want to do anything, but then one day- on some holiday where an amusement park had been set up on campus- she asked if I wanted to go with her. Then some where along the line, I guess I fell in love with her." he slightly blushed at this.

"Wow," Kuronu whispered.

"So remember, you can't tell anyone about what I just told you." He said with a serious look on his face. "The three students nodded.

"Well, we should get back to our report." Kuronu said as she stood up. "Thanks for the story, Atticus." She said as she ran off.

"Kuronu, wait up again!" Syrus called. "Oh great, now I sound like Chumley." Jaden and Kuronu laughed at this.

XXXXXXXXX

"'And so, the princess peach married the prince banana, and they all lived happily ever after, despite that fact that they hated each other, The End.'" Mallory said as she snapped the book shut. "That was worse then then the bunny one." She muttered.

"Another story, another story!" All the kids shouted. Mallory gritted her teeth. Coming to the civilian library was the biggest mistake of her life. She glanced up and saw several woman running towards her.

"You shouldn't ask strangers to read you books." One said as she picked up a small boy and a girl and quickly walked away, the others took their kids and did the same. Mallory stood up and was about to walk away when the little girl that had brought the book was standing in front of her.

"Shouldn't you go now too?"

"But my mom isn't here yet, and I don't want to be all alone here." Her eyes became large..er and watery. Mallory groaned.

"Look kid, I'm not gonna baby sit you." She said as she began to walk away. The little girl grabbed onto her leg. Mallory kept walking, and the girl kept holding onto her leg.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Look kid, get off of me." She groaned as she walked through building, several people stared at her.

"I don't want to be left alone." The girl cried.

"Well I do want to be alone, so scram twerp!"

"No!"

"Kana!" They heard someone cry."

"Mommy!" The little girl exclaimed. The woman came over and picked the young girl up.

"What have I told you about touching things that you don't know where they've been?" She scolded as they walked away.

"Sorry," The girl apologised. She then turned around and waved at Mallory.

"Finally," Mallory breathed. She then made her way to the front doors. As she approached them, the happy library appeared in front of her.

"You have a super duper, extra special day." She said with a huge smile on her face. "You come back real soon, ok."

"Yah, and you have a horribly miserable rest of your life, and I hope you go to hell, and I will definatly not be coming back here, got it freak."

"Super!" She said. Mallory walked past the woman, muttering murderous threats under her breath. She walked out the doors and found that it was rather dark and rainy out. She stood there for a moment at watched cars zoom by.

"Smells like rain," She muttered.

"Hey lady!" Someone called. Mallory looked down and saw the little girl that had grabbed onto her leg. "Are you going home too to see your family too?" She asked.

"Um,"

"It's time for me to go too, bye!" The little waved as she ran back to her mother. Mallory watched them leave. She looked up and saw Kaiba corporation. She pulled down her hat so it was covering her eyes and smirked as it began to drizzle.

"Time to go huh? Sounds good to me." She turned and began to walk directly away from her fathers company.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, that is where I shall end it. Please review, and no harsh flames.


	45. First Date

Chapter 45: First Date

Syrus and Jaden walked down the path towards the main building, talking about whatever came to mind. It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, but Jaden was already starving. His stomach let out a low grumbling. He sighed.

"I hate having to wait for lunch," He groaned as his stomach growled again. Syrus snickered. The shorter boy then looked up and saw someone standing by one of the statues.

"Hey, isn't that Kuronu?" He wondered. Jaden looked at where his friend was looking. Indeed, it was Kuronu. She was wearing a short- about knee lenght- light blue dress that had a square top and short sleeve. Her dark sapphire blue pendent surounded in white gold hung around her kneck on white silk ribbon.

A slightly lighter blue sash was tied around her waiste in a ribbon with long ends. Her hair was pulled back in pig tails, also with light blue ribbons. Her legs were close together as she stood looking at the ground, light blue strappy semi- high heels were on her feet. She had her arms close together infront of her body as she held something in both her hands; it appeared to be a pickinich basket.

"What's she all dressed up for?" Jaden asked as she kicked the dirt with one of her shoes. Syrus sighed.

"I bet I know." Jaden looked at him curiously, then they both ran over to her.

"Hey Kuronu," Jaden said cheerfully as he came up to her.

"Ack!" Kuronu screamed. The two boys blinked. "J- Jaden, Syrus," She began, slightly blushing at having screamed like that. "You startled me." She explained.

"It did look like your head was in the clouds." Syrus commented.

"Waaaaaaaaaaay high up in the clouds," Jaden added. His eyes then fell on the basket. "Soooo..." He began, a huge smile crossing his face. He could smell food. Kuronu turned, pulling the basket out of his few.

"You can't have any," She said as if she had read his mind. Jaden sighed, his stomach then let out another low grumble. Syrus and Kuronu snickered.

"So what's the dress?" Syrus asked. Kuronu's face lit up bright red.

"I'm not telling!" She said stubbornly. The two boys looked at each other, then back at the girl. It was clear she wasn't saying anything. Syrus then got an idea.

"Follow my lead," He whispered to Jaden. He cleared his throat. "Oh ok, I just thought you looked really cute in that dress." Kuronu slighly blushed some more, Jaden looked at him like he was mad.

"Y- you think so? I usually don't look good in dresses." Syrus then jabbed Jaden in the side with his elbow and cast him a look, a look that said 'I thought I told you to follow my lead!'

"Um, y- yah," Jaden began. "You look, um, really great." He had no idea what Syrus was trying to do.

"Do you think Zane will think so?" Kuronu asked, pushing her two index fingers together. It all became clear now.

"I knew it," Syrus said. "You and Zane going on a date, aren't you?" Kuronu nodded.

"Why wouldn't you tell us?" Jaden asked. Kuronu slightly turned her head away.

"Because I didn't want you guys following us." She blurted, then quickly covered her mouth with her right hand. "I mean,"

"Follow you?" Jaden and Syrus asked at the same time.

"Say, that's not a bad idea," Came a voice from behind.

"Oh no!" Kuronu screamed, Jaden and Syrus turned around. "Not you, anyone but you, Atticus." Atticus smiled down at them. "Me and my big mouth," She muttered. Atticus closed his eyes, crossed his arms and began to mumble some things and nodded his head sevral times, then a moment later, re opened his big brown eyes.

"Yep, I've decided, as the lover of your older sister," Kuronu winced. "And as Zane's buddy, it is my duty to follow you on this first date and make sure you guys do it right." He explained. Kuronu was close to tears. Their date would be ruined for sure. Then, from no where a hand appeared from behind him and grabbed his ear. Atticus let out a cry and fell to the ground. Alexis stood there, clutching his ear tightly.

"Don't even think about following them." She said.

"Sis, let go of my ear," Her older brohter cried. "You're gonna pull it off." Mindy and Jasmine also came over, all the three of the girls glared at Atticus.

"Yah, this is like, Kuronu and Zane's first date," Mindy began.

"And no one's going to ruin it." Jasmine finished. Jaden and Syrus slowly backed away, covering their ears.

"How'd you guys know about our date?" Kuronu asked. Alexis released her brothers ear and smiled.

"I had a feeling you guys were doing something, but Zane wouldn't tell me, but I eventually dragged it out of him." She explained. Atticus leaped up and ran behind the two slifer boys. Kuronu blinked.

_I hope she didn't hurt him._ Kuronu thought to herself.

"What's going on over here?" Chazz asked as he approached the group.

"Zane and Kuronu are going on their first date!" Mindy exclaimed. Kuronu blushed as Chazz raised an eyebrow.

"And Zane is late." Alexis announced. Everyone looked at each other. She shook her head. "The guy should NEVER be late for their first date, it's almost dump-worthy."

"So you're gonna dump Zane?" Chazz asked.

"No!" Kuronu shouted. "And he's not that late, I don't mind waiting."

_This is all so weird._ Syrus thought to himself. _Who would've thought that my big brohter and one of my best friends would be going out. _

"Oh, oh! Here he comes!" Jasmine suddenly cried. The three girls grabbed the four guys and pulled them behind a nearby tree.

Zane smiled as he approached Kuronu. He was wearing khaki pants with a khaki jacket and a light blue shirt under neath.

"Oh my gosh, they're matching," Alexis said, followed by Mindy, Jasmine and herself letting out a long sigh.

Zane and Kuronu stared at the tree as they heard a sigh. "Why is Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, Atticus, Syrus, Jaden, and Chazz hiding behind that tree?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." Kuronu admitted. The two then looked at each other and smiled. Zane ran his fingers through one of her strands of hair as his eyes sparkled.

"You look really beautiful in a dress." He told her. Kuronu face lit up red for the up-teenth time that morning.

"He said she looked beautiful," Mindy whispered. The three girl sighed again. Zane and Kuronu now glared at the tree.

"Any ways!" Kuronu turned away from the tree. "Thank you, you also look really nice in normal clothes."

"So what's in the basket?"

"Exactly what I was wondering," Jaden whispered, his stomach growling.

"I made us a pickinick lunch." Kuronu explained. Everyone frooze. It was common knowledge unto everyone that all Kaiba's- except Mokuba- could not cook...at all. "I hade dorothy help me." She added, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Well then, we should get going." Zane said as he took the basket in his right hand, then held out his left arm. Kuronu smiled as she wrapped her arm around it as they walked towards a path going into the woods.

"Since when has there been a path there?" Syrus wondered.

"I have no idea, Sy." Jaden agreed. They then heard a beep sound. They all turned around and saw Atticus sitting a little ways away, a cell phone in his hand.

"Atticus," Alexis began suspiciously. Atticus flinched. "Who did you call?"

"Uh, n- no one, dearest sister." Alexis narrowed her eyes.

"You did NOT call the Kaiba's, did you?" Atticus stood up, brushed his pants off and sighed.

"Ruuuuuuuuuuun!!!!!!!!!" He suddenly shouted. Jaden got up and ran after him, followed by Syrus, and then a reluctant Chazz. The girls glared at them.

"Stop them!" Alexis shouted, her arm out stretched as she pointed her index finger at them. The three girls then ran after them, calling for them to come back.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wow," Kuronu whispered as she stood at the top of a hill. After walking through the woods for quite a while they came to a large clearing. There was a hill that sloped down and a large lake, also a cliff hanging right over the lake. Surrounding the area were lots of trees that formed the woods around the area. "It's sop beautiful," She said as she took a step forward. As she steped, her foot slipped from beneath her and she began to tumbled down the hill. Zane instinkivly dropped the basket and ran after her, but also slipped on mud and rolled down after her.

Kuronu landed hard on her back, and almost immediatly Zane landed abover her. He put his arms out so he didn't land on her, but was now over her, his dark hair droopping down as he stared down at her slightl;y blushing, their faces only inches away. Kuronu stared up at him, her arms lying slightly abover her head. Her face was also red. Zane silently rolled over so he was now sitting next to her, followed by Kuronu slowly sitting up.

"Eh-heh," They both slightly laughed as they smiled at each other. "I'll, uh, go get the basket." Zane said as he stood up, slightly sore. He quickly brushed off his pants and his jacket, then extended his hand to help Kuronu. As he walked back up the hill, the girl scowled as she looked down at her dress. It was a bit muddy, and she now had dirt and grass in her hair.

She stared out at the shimmering lake. It looked like a giant mirror. She walked up to the edge and looked into it. A large spot of dirt was right on her nose, and she had a few minor scratches of her arms and legs. "Well, this has been an eventful morning," She muttered as she put her hands in the cool water. She brought her hands up and cupped them so the water would stay. She then splashed it on her face and rubbed the dirt off. She stood up again as Zane was now walking back down.

Right as he opened his mouth a low grumbling was heard. The two looked down as Kuronu blushed. "As I was about to say, I think it's time for lunch." He said as he smiled at the girl. Kuronu nodded quickly.

"Sounds good to me." She agreed. They set out a small square blanket and sat down. There were some sandwiches cut up in half like triangles, and some iced tea. Not to mention a whole bunch of rice cakes. Zane had a ham and cheese sandwhich while Kuronu had tuna. She smiled as she sunk her teeth into the soft bread and wonderfully- fishy smelling tuna and tore off about more then half the sandwhich, while Zane only took a small, well mannered bite.

As they ate, they then heard faint, high pitch school- girlish screeming, only it didn't stay faint for long, in a moment it seemed not so far away. "What's that?" Kuronu asked as she looked around. Zane shrugged.

"Probably a bunch of idiots who wondered into the woods and are now being chased by viscious monsters." He replied, shrugging. Kuronu blinked.

"There are monsters in the woods?" She glanced around nervously. Zane smiled gently.

"Well, that's what I've been told." As he said this, four figures appeared on the cliff that dropped right into the lake. They were screaming. As they ran, they looked back, not noticing the cliff, and fell off into the lake with a huge splash. Three other figures appeared, only they weren't running.

"Hey, isn't that..." Kuronu began.

"Alexis?" Zane finished. The three girls looked down at the couple and slowly waved.

XXXXXXX

Atticus's head imerged from the water by the land. Two hands grabbed his arms and yanked him out, he was sat down by a very wet Jaden, Syrus, and Chazz. He looked up and saw Zane, Alexis, Kuronu, Mindy, and Jasmine standing in front of them, all glaring with their arms crossed.

Atticus 'innocently' smiled. "Hey guys, fancy meeting you here, eh-heh." Zane and Alexis' glared became even more intense, if that was possible.

"What are you doing here?" Zane inquired. Atticus stood up and put his wet arm around his friends shoulder.

"Well, it's you and Kuronu's first date and all, so I thought I'd follow you to make sure you did things right." He explained. Kuronu, who had been standing slightly behind Alexis, pushed past her so she was now directly in front of the brown haired idiot.

"We were doing fine until you came." She told him. "Not to mention you got my sandwhich wet!" She held up a soggy tuna sandwhich. Everyone cringed. A soggy sandwhich was bad, but a soggy tuna sandwhich was worst, mostly because alot of people don't like tuna to begin with (something about it smelling bad, but I have no idea what that's about.) Zane then swiftly turned his gaze to the three girls.

"And what are YOU guys doing here?"

"We were trying to stop them," Alexis explained simply. Jaden crawled past the girls and Zane over to the blanket with food and rubbed huis hands together.

"Well, since we're here, we might as well-" Kuronu and Zane pointed to the woods.

"Leave." They instructed. Jaden sighed as he stood up, followed by Syrus and Chazz. The four boys sulked past them, all muttering things.

"I knew this was a stupid idea." Chazz hissed.

"Don't be mad at me," Syrus began. "Jaden ran off after Atticus first."

"Yah, but you just said it, Atticus ran off first."

"Yah well..." Atticus had no excuse. "Lexy was gonna pull my ear again." No good excuse anyways.

Zane and Kuronu then glanced at the three girls. Zane cleared his throat rather loudly.

"Oh, right, sorry," Alexis said as she jogged past them to catch up with the boys. Mindy and Jasmine also apologised before then went to catch up with Alexis.

"Well, that was...interesting." Kuronu commented. She then looked back at her sandwhich and sniffed. "I only got to eat half of it." She muttered as she sat back down. Zane sat back across from her, then ripped the other half of his sandwhich in half and handed it to his girlfriend. "What's this?" She asked.

"I'm not that hungry anyways," He said.

"Oh no, I couldn't,"

"No really I insist."

"But-"

"Eat it." Kuronu reluctanly took the sandwhich, then smiled at her boyfriend.

"Arigato!" She exclaimed, then took a large bite out of it.

Once thay had finished with their lunch, they put everything away, except the blanket. Kuronu sat with her knees pulled up to her chest as Zane put the last of the dishes away. "So," Zane began as he sat down next to her. "What would you like to do now?"

"I guess there's nothing left to do but go back to the academy." She replied softly. Zane stretched his arms out as he brought his one knee up and leened back. He looked up at the sky. It was perfectly blue, except for a few white puffy clouds here and there.

"Yah, but we can't just end our first date like this." The both looked at each other. "It's too boring of ending." Kuronu turned her body so she was now better facing him, her legs no long against her body.

"Then what would you sugest we do?" She scooted a bit closer, but no so much where it was obvious.

Zane leaned a bit closer and but his right hand on her right cheek. He leaned down to kiss her, but right as he was about to, Kuronu turned her head.

"What's that?" She asked. Zane followed her gaze and looked out into the field. A few feet away, about three feet off the ground was a small floating sphere with an antena and what looked like a lense in the center.

What the heck?" Zane raised an eyebrow. He squinted and then, near the bottom of it, he saw tha letters 'KC.' He glared at it. Kuronu had also noticed it and was glaring at it as well.

"The tweebs," She whispered.

XXXXXXXXX

Haru and Hiro smiled as they sat on a couch in a completly dark room, the only light was from the big screen television. Haru had a joy stick in his hand. On the screen sat Kuronu and Zane, glaring at the small robot.

"This is so much fun." Haru said.

"Behold, the power of the 'spy bot' version 2.0. The newest, bestest way to spy on your baby sister's first date with your best friend."

"Cha, and do think Gozoboro had first used this for military purposes." The twins laughed at this.

"I know, what loser would want to use a small, robot that can be controlled from almost thousands of miles away that can shoot stun lasors as a military device?" Hiro asked.

"Someone not very smart at all, I mean, spying on your little sister is a WAAAAAAY better use for this baby." Haru said. Kuronu then stood up and began to run towards it, a murderous glint in her eyes.

"Uh- oh, quick, move it." Hiro inscructed. Haru turned the joy stick. It moved backwards, then it began to zig zag to the left, though it never turned away from the girl. Haru and Hiro laughed as their sister ran after it, her mouth moving, though they couldn't hear anything she was saying.

"Maybe we should hit her with a stun lasor." Haru sugested. Hiro nodded quickly. Haru went to push the small red button, when the door sudenly burst open, and bright light flooded the room. "Ack!" Haru screached, dropping the joy stick.

"My eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Hiro screamed. The both fell to the floor, twitching as they covered their eyes.

"They buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn." The two rasped. A tall shadow apeared over them.

"What are you doing?" Seto asked as he looked down at them, glaring.

"Close the door and we shall explain aaaaaaaaaaaaaall." Haru whispered. Seto rolled his eyes, but closed the door non the less. The twins immediately sat back up. "We're spying on Zane and Kuronu's first date!" He said as he picked up the joy stick again. Seto was silent for a moment. They jumped over the couch and grabbed the joy stick.

"Hey!" The twins exclaimed.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu stopped running as the robot began to just go around in a circle. Zane came up to her. "Uh," She began.

"Probably fighting over the joy stick." Zane concluded. Kuronu shook her head.

"Those guys are so childish."

XXXXXXXXX

"Give it back, dad!" Haru shout as he and his twin struggled to grab the joy stick back from their father.

"I want to play with it, it was my toy to begin with!" Seto told them as he struggled to keep it in his possession. Haru then accidently fell onto him, which caused his arm to move over to the left, and his hand that was on the joy stick. The screen stopped moving in cirlcles as it moved straight for a moment, then all became a murkey blue. The three stared at the scree.

"Uhhh..." They all said.

XXXXXXXXX

The robot suddenly stopped moving in circles, but in stead dove straight into the lake. Zane and Kuronu blinked.

"Ok," She said. "That was weird." Zane shrugged.

"Which can only be expected coming from something that your brothers were doing."

XXXXXXXX

"Good thing it's water proof." Hiro said. Haru glared at his dad, then took the joy stick back.

"From now on, leave the controls to me." He said. Seto crossed his arms as he pouted. Haru then pressed another button, when the door burst open again, all three men cringed, mostly the twins. "MY EYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!" They screamed. Seto just shielded his eyes as he blinked. He turned around and saw Meisha standing in the door way.

"What on earth are you guys doing?" She asked sternly.

"Noooooooothing," The three said. She raised an eyebrow. The looked at the screen, where half of it was what appeared to be below the water, the other half showed grass, and what looked like Zane and Kuronu from not too far away.

"You're spying on your sister with the 'spy bot' 2.0?" She asked as she walked over. She grabbed the joy stick and pressed the third and final button.

"No, not that button!" The twins exclaimed.

XXXXXXXXX

The couple blinked again as the robot began to emerge from the water. It was nearly fully above the surface when it suddenly exploded. Shrapnal flew at them and landed behind them or at their feet, though most of it just fell in the water. The two stared at the place where it once was.

"Maybe we should just go back to the academy," Zane suggested. Kuronu nodded.

XXXXXXXX

"Why was their even a self destruct button on that thing anyways?" Hiro asked. His brother shrugged.

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Authoresses note: Alrighty, I'll end it there. Please review, and no harsh flames.


	46. Insert Title of Choice Here

Chapter 46:

Seto walked into a small waiting room where a few people were sitting in chairs reading magazines and books. They all looked at him, clearly think why someone much more important looking then themselves would came into such a civillian place as this, and Seto was thinking the same thing. He scanned everyone and everything, intimidating everyone and everything, until:

"Wooooooooooooooooow, so this is what a civilian eye docter office looks like." Haru came through the door with a HUGE smile on his face and big, sparkling blue eyes as he looked at everything. Seto whacked his forehead.

'I thought I told you not speak!" He hissed.

"Oh, oh!" Haru began to jump up and down as he pointed at something. "Look at all the glasses." Seto sighed. This was not happening. Not only did he have to take one of his two idiotic sons to get glasses, but he had lost the intimidation of everyone in the room. He grabbed the spiky haired boy's arm and dragged him to a counter.

"Try not to make me look like a comeplete fool, ok?"

"Can I help you?" Said someone from behind the counter. There was a lady with long, blonde hair there with dark brown eyes. She was rather tall and very slender. Her teeth perfectly white. Haru whistled.

"Um, yah," He began.

"Say, don't I know you from somewhere?" She asked. Seto raised an eyebrow. She probably knew him because he was, in fact, Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp. But then again, she was rather beautiful, meaning the most likely way she'd know him was this:

"Let me guess, you one of many of my brother's ex- girlfriends, aren't?" He asked. "My brother, Mokuba Kaiba." The young lady gigled.

"Oh yah, that's right. He was way hot. I like, dated him for two hours." She giggled again, although neither Seto nor Haru knew why, two hours of dating someone was hardly a reason to giggle. "So yah, you must be Haru," She looked at the spiky haired teen. "Doctor Patch is waitin in the back room for you." The two began to walk away.

"Oh yah, like Mr. Mokie's older bro," She called. Seto cringed. Haru covered his mouth with his hand to surpress and laugh.

_'Mr. Mokie's older bro?'_ Seto thought as he turned around.

"Could you like, give a message to Mokie for me?" She smiled. Seto groaned. Why was it that whenever he ran into one of Mokuba's old girlfriend's, he was the one who had to pass on the 'messages'?

"Fine," He grumbled. She suddenly smacked him hard across the cheek. "Ooooh," Haru cringed. A red hand print was now on his dad's right cheek.

"Thanks, you're a doll."

Seto and Haru walked into the back room, which was dark. A large, weird looking chair sat in the back corner. There a desk not quite in the middle of the room with a chair behind it and in front of it with a weird device on tope of it. Haru clutched his dad's arm.

"Dad, this place scares me," He whispered. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Welcome!" Came a loud booming voice. Haru screamed and jumped into his father's arms. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He chuckled. Seto turned around and saw a tall man who appeared to be rather muscular. We wore khaki pants and a white shirt with a brown tie. He had long grey hair that was pulled back in a think pony tail. Over his left eye was a black eye patch.

"So which one of you ladies is Haru?" Seto glared at him. He dropped Haru onto the floor, not taking his eyes off of the man who had insulted him. Haru shakily stod up.

"I- I'm, uh, H- Haru, s- sir." He stuttered. The man walked over to him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I see. I'm Dr. Patch, please, sit down." He gestered to the large chair in the back corner. Haru looked at the chair, then back at the doctor. He slowly walked over to it and sat down. As soon as his arms were on the arm rests, a metal bend went over each of his rists and his ankles, strapping him to the chair.

"Ack!" Haru screemed as he struggled to get his limbs free. Seto raised an eyebrow.

"It's futile," The doctor said. "The only way you're getting out of that chair is if I use my key, which I'm not going to do any time soon."

"What are you going to do to me?" Haru asked. "Some horrible experiment that'll turn me into some weird, mutant ninja turtle or something?!"

"A mutent ninja turtle?" Seto asked as his eyebrow went up higher. He looked at the doctor, who shrugged.

"Run, Dad, save yourself!" Haru wailed. "Tell Mom she was the worst cook ever, and tell uncle Mokuba that although I enjoyed his companionship when you ignored Hiro and I, he's a bad example. Tell Kuronu that despite the fact that she has no talents, is a klutz, and has test anxiety, she still needs to get a life,"

"Doesn't this guy have anything nice to say about his family?" The doctor asked.

"Appearently not," Seto replied.

"But most of all, tell Hiro, that-"

"I'm not passing on any of these messages!" Seto hollored. "Now shut up and let the guy check your eyes."

"But- but- but- but-"

"No buts, or I'm taking away the international cable." Haru gasped.

"No! Not the international cable! How am I suposed to watch all my American TV shows then?" Dr. Patch then cleared his throat rather loudly.

"Boy, I'm turning you into a mutant ninja turtle, so calm down." He then pulled these weird giant glasses type thing and placed them over his eyes. "Now, I want you to read the letters on the wall across from you, and no squinting." The doctor turned on a projector and a pyramid of letters appeared on the wall, though they all appeared fuzzy to Haru. "And no squinting."

Haru cleared his throat. "Um," He had no idea what any of the letters were, it was all fuzzy and unreadable. He then had an idea. "Um, 'h- e- l- p- m- e- d- a- d-..." Seto looked at the letters as did the doctor. "'Exclamation point!" Seto whacked his forehead.

"Hm, his eyes are worse then I thought," Dr. Patch muttered to himself.

**SEVERAL TESTS LATER**

"Ok," The doctor said as he realeased Haru from his chair. Haru lept up and ran to the door, but found it was looked.

"The door is locked," He said. "Quick dad, out the window!" He ran towards the window, but Seto stuck out his foot and tripped him.

"Please sit down on the stool," Dr. Patch said, motioning to the stool in front of the desk. Haru slowly got up and examined the chair. There appeared to be no way he'd get tied to it, but you can never be too careful.

"Just sit down!" Seto ordered. Haru sat. The doctor sat on the other side.

"Now, place your chin there," He pointed to a weird shelf thingy on the strange device that sat on the desk. Haru did so, though very suspicious. This guy was up to something, maybe he wantecd to steal one of his eyes to replace the one under the eye patch. Suddenly a burst of air was sent through his right eye. He screamed as he fell back wards. Seto shook his head.

Haru stood up and backed away, his hand over his eye. "He's trying to steal my eye!" He shouted as he looked at his father and pointed at the doctor with his free hand. The doctor rested his head in his hand.

"Would you sit down and stop it with these insane thoughts! He is not trying to steal your eyes! Would he, your's obviously SUCK!" Haru sniffed.

**SEVERAL TESTS AND HOURS LATER**

"Well, I think I finally have an idea of what perscription he needs," The doctor said. "You can go try on some glasses now to see which pair you would like." Haru ran out into the room with all the glasses. Seto went to follow him when the doctor grabbed his arm. "Never bring him back here again."

"Believe, I never want to bring him ack here again." Seto replied. Haru now had his back turned as he looked in a mirror. "Find a pair you like?"

"Yah!" Haru replied. He turned and Seto nearly had a heart attack. On his sons face was a pair of of VERY thick black frmaed glasses that were not only perfectly round, but huge. The glass also seemed to magnifie his bright blue eyes. "I want these!"

"Absolutly not!" Seto shouted. "You look like a dork."

"But dad, I'm a happy dork." Haru replied.

"I don't care if you're happy or not, you get those rediculous things off right now!" He hissed. Haru gasped.

"You don't care if you son is happy or not?" A woman said from behind them. Seto turned around and saw a whole group of angry woman.

"You're such a horrible father!" Another said. They all then began to hit him with their purses.

"Ow, stop it, I didn't mean!-" Seto began. Haru winced.

XXXXXXXX

Seto now had many bumps and bruises on his face and arms. "You are not getting huge, thick rimmed glasses, ok?" He said through gritted teeth. Haru sadly took the glasses off.

"Ok," He said softly. "Oh hey, here's a pair!" He grabbed a pair of glasses and put them on. The rims were incredibly thin and square.

"No, to weak looking." Seto told him.

XXXXXXXXX

Haru smiled as he had on glasses with pink frames that were rectangular.

"Definatly not," Seto said.

XXXXXXX

Haru now had on rounded rectangular glasses with gold frames. Seto took them from him and rubbed his fingers against the gold.

"What, it's not real gold? cheap scapes."

XXXXXXX

Seto's eye twitched as Haru had on small perfectly round glasses that had gold frames and the glass was a light pink, his middle and index finger were up like a peace sign.

"You have GOT to be kidding me."

XXXXXXXX

Seto shook his head as Haru had on a pair of medium thick framed glasses that were yellow with some weird yellow sponge thing on them in pants while trying to catch a jelly fish. "What the heck is that?" He asked.

"It's from some American show." Haru replied.

"...That's it, I'm definatly cutting the international cable."

"No!!!!!!!"

XXXXXXXXX

"Well, that's all of them," Haru siad as he put down the last pair of glasses.

"I can't believe they don't have a single nice pair here," Seto commented.

"Uh, dad, there were alot of nice pairs, you just didn't like any of them."

"That's because none of them were Kaiba worthy." Haru sighed.

"Well, I have to pick one of them, I liked the first-"

"No!" Seto exclaimed. "Anything, but that pair, even the weird sponge one was better."

"Oh cool, I liked those," Seto froze.

"I was kidding, you're not getting those!"

"Aw man," Haru whined. Seto grabbed a pair next to him and thrust them into Haru's hands.

"There, get those." He said. Harulooked at them closely. He didn't remeber seeing that pair. The frames weren't incredibly thick, but they weren't wire thin either. They were a firey red with hints of orange and the shape was kinda a rounded rectangle type shape that were only a bit bigger then his eyes.

He held them up to his face, a smile slowly creeping up. Haru spun around as he was suddenly in a fuzzy field of flowers with a pink and orange sky while some cheesey love song played.

"What are you doing?" Seto asked as he looked at his son, who was just standing there with this incredibly childish smile while holding up the glasses. Haru blinked as he was snapped out of his fantasy. He then began to put the glasses on. As he slid them on, he felt an incredible burst of power. Once they were fully on, fire appeared behind him as he raised his fist in the air.

"I feel the power!" He said, his voice sounding echoy.

"That's nice," Seto said as all went back to normal and the fire disapeared.

"Dad, stop bursting my fantasy bubbles," Haru whined. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, do you want those or not?" Haru quickly nodded. "Great, then let's give them to the receptionist."

"Found a pair you like?" The blonde woman asked. Seto nodded, very releived that this nightmareish trip was finally over. "Great, and it only took you three hours," Seto groaned. She had to remind him, didn't she. Hare then placed another pair of glasses on the counter, only these had dark red shiny rims and the glass was black.

"Perscription sun glasses," He explained. "I need to have perscription sun glasses that way I can cruise in my spiffy car with all my hot lady friends." Seto didn't say any thing as the lady giggled.

"I knew I should've kept Mokuba away from you guys." He muttered.

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Authoresses note: Ok, kinda weird random chapter, but you get the idea. There probably wont be another update for a while in seeing how my computer is still broken, but I'll see what I can do. Please review anyways, and no harsh flames.


	47. The Carnival

Authoresses note: Ok, I saw some really, really great ideas, but I could only pick one, sorry. But I had to go with snowysaku's idea.

Chapter 47: The carnival.

_FLASH BACK_

_Kuronu was just about to walk into the girl's blue dorm when she saw a huge light come from somewhere in the woods. Curious, she ran to see what had happened. 'Maybe the 7th shadow rider,' she thought to herself. She soon came to a small clearing, where she saw Alexis lying on the ground._

_"Alexis," She cried as she ran over. Just as she reached the blonde haired girl, she became a bit transparent, and then disappeared altogether. Kuronu gritted her teeth. 'A shadow rider and Alexis must've lost...' "Ah, crap!" She exclaimed as she looked around, she didn't have her duel disk, but that didn't matter since she didn't even have on of the spirit keys. She then saw a figure in the woods, a bright light, then the next thing she knew, she was being held in Zane's arms as he looked down at her worriedly._

_END FLASHBACK_

Banner was reveled to be the 7th shadow rider; Jaden had of course beaten him, return her, Alexis, and Chazz's souls to their bodies.

_FLASH BACK_

_Kuronu jogged down to the lighthouse where she Zane standing in his usual position: arms crossed as he stared out into the ocean. She pressed her index fingers together as she walked towards him. "Hey," She said, smiling. He looked over and also smiled._

_"Glad you could make it," He said as turned back to the water and she was now at his side. A moment of silence passed._

_"Sooo..." Kuronu began. "What did you want to talk about?" Zane's eyes narrowed._

_"Kuronu," He said, "I want you to be careful," He was now looking directly into her eyes. Kuronu blinked._

_"Be careful of what?" She asked. "I mean, all the shadow riders are gone, it's done, over... right?" Zane sighed as he closed his eyes and slightly shook his head. _

_"I don't know," He admitted. "I just have this feeling." He looked back at the girl before him, her big blue eyes blinking with a confused look in them. He smiled softly as he walked closer to her, then but his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Kuronu blushed as she was pulled against his body. _

_"Kuronu, I love you, and I don't want anything to happen to you again. Promise me you won't go running towards huge beams of light anymore, ok?" He said. Kuronu wasn't sure quite how to reply, until she finally rested her head right below his shoulder and smiled._

_"Ok, I promise," She whispered back. _

_END FLASH BACK_

Kuronu cringed and placed her hand over her stomach as Alexis stood behind her, pulling a deep red ribbon taunt around her waist. "I can't breath!" She wheezed. Alexis tied the ribbon into a perfect bow and stood back, admiring her work.

"Well, if you can't breath, then you know you're wearing right." She said with a hollow laugh as she herself could also hardly breathe.

Kuronu was wearing a very light burgundy kimono with white roses on it and a deep red ribbon tied very tightly around her waist. The sleeves fanned out widely at the elbows and the kimono itself went down to about her ankles with slits that went to her knees.

Alexis wore a dark blue kimono with a purple flowers scattered on it and a bright pink sash. Hers also had bell sleeves and went down to just below her knees. Mindy and Jasmine burst into Alexis' room, also wearing kimonos. Jasmine had an orange one with white flowers and a red sash, while Mindy had a bright pink one with light purple flowers and a white sash. "Come, we're going to be late," Jasmine exclaimed.

"Ok, ok, we're coming." Alexis said as she jogged towards the door in her wooden sandals. "Come on Kuronu, don't want to keep Zane waiting," She winked at this. Kuronu slightly blushed. She looked out the window where she saw a ferries wheel going around and around a distance off. She smiled and followed them outside. A carnival had been set up on the north side of the academy where there were no buildings. As the girls ran towards a path that went into the woods, Chancellor Sheppard called out to them.

"Ladies," He was wearing a plain red kimono. The girls stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Ah, Kuronu," He began, quite out of breath. "Your mother is on the phone," Kuronu blinked. "In my office," He clarified.

"Why didn't she just call my cell phone?" The brown haired girl inquired. The chancellor shrugged.

"Well, you best get going, she's waiting, and she seems rather emotional."

"We'll see you there then," Mindy said as she waved.

"W-wait! What about Zane?"

"We'll tell him you'll be there in a little bit." Alexis told her. "Don't take too long though," Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, and the Chancellor disappeared into the woods. Kuronu sighed. Then ran down to the main building and up to the chancellor's office. The door was open and the room was empty. She looked around cautiously.

"Kuronu!" Someone called. Kuronu screamed and dove behind the chancellor's desk; her eyes were as wide as dinner plates as her heart beat very fast. Once she regained her composer, she peered over the desk. There, on a large screen was her mothers face, sobbing.

"M- mom?" She asked as she stood up and walked over to the screen. "What's wrong?" Her mother blew her nose in a tissue loudly and wiped her eyes.

"M- m-" She stuttered. Kuronu tilted her head to the side. "Mallory's gone!" She exclaimed. Kuronu's jaw dropped as a sick feeling of shock fell over her. Her legs gave out as she fell to the floor, still staring at the screen as her mother sobbed more.

XXXXXXX

Syrus smiled a huge smile as he stared at the scene before him. A huge area with all sorts of games and rides. He was wearing a plain red kimono with a yellow sash. Jaden appeared next to him, smiling broadly as well. He had a bright fiery red kimono with a black sash, only his was open down to his waist, revealing his chest.

"Just what we need, a nice carnival after defeating the shadow riders." He said as Chumley finally caught up. He wore a white kimono with a dark red sash.

"I hope there's grilled cheese somewhere." He said.

"I'm sure there'll be a place to get grilled cheese," Syrus said as he smiled. As he said this, Chazz walked by, not even giving them a glance. He was wearing a black kimono with a purple sash, his also open.

"Hey Chazz, wait up!" Jaden called as he ran over. Chazz cringed. Syrus snickered as something then caught his eye. He saw his brother leaning against a tree, staring at the sky. He had a light blue kimono on with a black sash, and his was also open. Syrus walked over.

"Hey bro," He said, slightly waving. Zane looked at him for a moment before replying.

"Hey," He finally said. An awkward silence fell over them. Syrus kicked the dirt with his wooden sandal.

"Soo... waiting for Kuronu?" He asked. Zane looked at from him as he closed his eyes.

"Maybe," He said. Syrus couldn't help but snicker. He could've sworn he saw Zane blush. It was so weird that his brother had a girl friend, that girlfriend being one of his best friends, but now he had a bit of room to tease his older brother, but not allot.

"Well, I'll let you go then, have fun on your date." He said as he waved. As he walked away, he could feel murderous intent and so practically ran over to Jaden.

"For the last time, I'm not your buddy!" Chazz exclaimed as he pushed Jaden away. He then saw Alexis with Mindy and Jasmine. He quickly straitened out his kimono as she walked over.

"Hey guys," The blonde said.

"Hey Lex," Jaden began. "Wow, you look great." Alexis smiled.

"You don't look half bad yourself."

Chazz clenched his fists in anger and jealousy. He wasn't going to let Jaden win the heart of his love. "I think you look better then great, in fact, I think you look gorgeous." He said, slightly bowing. Alexis' eye slightly twitched.

"Uh- huuuh..." She turned back to Jaden. "Well, I'll see you guys later."

"Oh look, there's Zane," Mindy announced as she pointed to the blue clad figure. Alexis smiled as she walked over to him; Jasmine and Mindy were of course quick to follow.

"I wonder where Kuronu is," Syrus wondered as he watched Alexis talk with his brother.

XXXXXXXX

"W- what do you mean Mal's gone?" Kuronu asked as she tried to stand. Her mother wiped her eyes again as she tried to control her tears.

"She hasn't been home in weeks; no one's seen her or heard from her or anything."

"But Mallory always disappears like that and then returns from apparently no where," Her mother shook her head.

"It's different this time, I can feel it, and she's not coming back!" She once again burst into tears. Kuronu sighed. _But Mal always comes back, always. Is she really... gone? _ Kuronu slowly placed her hand on the screen where she could see her mother's shoulder. "Uh, there, there, I'm sure Mallory will come back eventually, like a lost dog. _Did I just call Mallory a dog? Oh thank goodness she's not here or she'd decapitate me. _She's probably just a little confused what with seeing Atticus again and such."

Her mother sniffed as the water works turned off, at least for a few minuets anyways. She sniffed. "I remember when she was first born, so cute and innocent, one of the nicest little girls one would ever meet..." Kuronu cringed. That pause, it meant the water works were coming back on, she could feel it. "Where did I go wrong in raising her?" As predicted she burst into tears once again. Kuonu sighed as she continued to pat the screen.

_I would love to cry over this with you mom, really, but Zane... he's waiting for me._

XXXXXXX

Jaden collapsed onto to the ground with a sigh. "Wow, I'm tired." He looked up at the sky, before too long it would become dark, which of course was when carnivals really got fun. He was surrounded by all sorts of bags and prizes.

"Jaden, don't just sit in the middle of the path in the dirt," Syrus told him.

"Where else am I supposed to sit?" He asked. Syrus wordlessly pointed to a bench behind them. "Oh," Jaden got up and began to gather up his prizes when something caught his eye. He looked over at a booth and saw Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine. It was that game where you throw a ball and try to knock down the bottles and if you do you win a prize.

"Come on Lex, win that teddy bear," Mindy cheered. Alexis through her first ball, but missed the very small stack of bottles that were set up far away.

"That's ok, you still have two more balls," Jasmine reminded her. The blonde threw the second ball, and missed.

Jaden blinked as he watched the three girls. Alexis threw the third ball, it hit directly in the building knocking all the bottles down...except one.

"Ah, so close," Jasmine said as the man handed Alexis a key chain. The girls stared at it. Alexis smiled.

"Oh well, there's other games." She said as she walked away. Jaden slowly began to walk towards the booth.

"Hey, where you going Jay?" Syrus called as he ran after him. Chumley then returned to the bench, a grilled cheese sandwich in each hand.

"Hey, wait up!" He called as he also ran over.

Jaden handed the man a few coins, the man then put three balls on the counter. "Jaden, what are you doing?" Syrus asked as he and Chumley reached the booth. Without a word, Jaden through the first ball. It hit the bottles dead center; scatter all the bottles down to the floor. "Wow, you did Jaden, first try too!" Syrus exclaimed as the man handed him the prize. The three stared at the small stuff bear.

"This is the grand prize?" Jaden asked as he looked at it. "Usually someone wins a huge giant stuffed animal." The man just shrugged as he went and sat down in a chair. "What a rip off," Jaden then turned and walked down the path.

"Jaden, where are you going, all of our stuff," The blue haired pointed towards the bench, but Jaden kept walking. "What's he doing? Jaden, wait up!"

"Oh great, not more running," Chumley whined as he ran after his two friends.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu groaned. She looked out the window and saw the sun setting. _I can't believe... I stood him up like this. He probably hates me. _ Her mother was now in the part of her story when Mallory first went to the academy. Kuronu clenched her fists. "Zane," She whispered.

XXXXXX

As Rose entered the carnival, she couldn't help but notice Zane standing by a tree, all alone. The red haired girl walked over as she wore a dark blue kimono with red roses and a red sash tied tightly around her waist. The kimono went down to her knees and long slits that went up her thighs. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips. "Mr. Truesdale, standing out here all alone, where's your girlfriend?" Zane ignored her and continued to stare up at the orange clouds. Rose smiled an evil smile. "She stood you up, didn't she?" The girl proceeded towards him.

"What a mean girl," She continued. "If I were you, I'd dump her in an instant." She extended her index finger and put it at the base of his neck, then ran it down his chest. "Say, it looks like the cotton candy stand is closing, how about you buy us some and then we can go on some rides together, I'll even let you win me a prize." She batted her dark green eyes. Zane swat her hand away.

"No thank you," He said, he then stood up straight and walked towards the carnival. Rose pouted for a minuet, then smirked and ran after him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled.

"You're so funny Zane,"

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu gritted her teeth as her mother continued Mallory's life story. She bit her lip so hard that a warm stream of blood dripped down her chin and some even into her mouth. _I'm sorry mom, but- _"Zane's waiting for me!!!" She finally blurted out. Meisha stopped and blinked. "He's been waiting for three hours, so I'm sorry mom, but-"

"YOU IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Meisha screamed so loud that Kuronu, startled, fell backwards. "Then why the heck have you been standing around here listening to my sob story?!"

"W- well," Kuronu began.

"GO!" Meisha screeched. "Go to him immediately!" Kuronu quickly got to her feet and ran out the door. Meisha rolled her eyes. "Fool,"

Kuronu quickly ran down the hall ways and down the steps as quickly as her feet would allow her. The wooden sandals didn't help either. She ran outside into the warm evening air. The sun was now almost completely set. _Zane, please still be there._ She ran through the woods path and finally got to where the carnival had been set up. She looked around, no on was there. She slowly walked closer.

_"I'll meet you right outside the carnival," _Zane's voice echoed in her mind as no one was around.

She lowered her head as her bangs covered her eyes. "I should've guess you wouldn't have waited that long," She bit her already split lip as more blood dripped down. He probably never wants to see me again."

"Who never wants to see you again?" She heard someone ask. She looked up and saw Zane standing in front of her, a stick of cotton candy in each hand.

"Z- Zane, you're still here!" She exclaimed as she ran over.

"Of course I'm still here, where else would I be?"

"But, I stood you up, I-"

"Don't worry about it," He handed her a stick of the pink fluffy candy. A warm smile was on his face as the stars began to come out. Kuronu took the stick and smiled. "And look on the bright side," He put his free arm around her and gestured to the carnival as all the lights on the rides began to come on. "A carnival is much more fun at night." Kuronu nodded as they walked towards all the lights.

XXXXXXXX

Jaden held out the small brown bear in front of him as he looked at it. "So Jaden, what are you going to do with the bear?" Syrus asked.

"Well, I thought maybe I'd-" He suddenly stopped walking.

"Jaden?" Syrus asked. "Why'd you stop?" He followed Jaden's gaze to where he saw Chazz as he handed Alexis a giant stuffed bear.

"Here, I won this for you." He said. Alexis took the bear as she smiled.

"Wow Chazz, that was really nice of you, thanks."

Jaden looked down at the small bear in his hands, and then at the huge bear Chazz had given Alexis. "Jaden?" Syrus asked.

"I-" He began as Alexis walked off with Chazz. "I'm gonna keep it," He finally said. Syrus blinked as Jaden walked off to his left.

"What's up with him?" Chumley asked as the two watched Jaden. Syrus shrugged.

"Not sure,"

XXXXXXXXXX

Zane held a rifle tightly against his shoulder as he aimed for a target. He pulled back the trigger. One of the small round silver balls shot out of the barrel and hit the middle target dead center. The four targets surrounding that one were the same: a small hole right in the center. "Wow, five out five," The man behind the booth said. "You got good aim kid, here's your prize." He handed Zane a giant stuffed panda. Zane turned and handed the panda to Kuronu as her eyes sparkled.

"So kawaii!!!" She exclaimed as she hugged the giant plushy.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu screamed as she and Zane spun around in a spinning kuriboh ride. Afterwards, Zane collapsed onto a bench; his eyes all swirly as Kuronu held her giant panda and giggled.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu scanned the water as many gold fish swam around. She readied her net, her bright blue eyes determined. She plunged her net into the water, and then pulled it back up, a large fat goldfish flipped on it.

Zane approached her, carrying two balloons filled with water, lollipops, cotton candy; a mask was on the side of his head, and stick of fried squid on a stick in his mouth with another one in his hand. Kuronu's giant stuffed panda's arms were tied around his neck as it hung on his back. Kuronu turned around and smiled as she held out a small plastic bag with the fish in it and held it out to him. She blinked as she looked at all the things he was holding.

"Ah- ha- ha," She laughed embarrassedly. "How about I hold onto the fish for you,"

"Hank hyou," Zane said as he still had the squid in his mouth.

XXXXXXX

Zane dropped all the bags of food onto a wooden table that sat under a tree. Once his hands were free, he set the panda down on the bench as Kuronu sat next to it. Zane sat across from her. "Itadakimasu!" Kuronu cried as she clapped her hands to gather, then broke apart her chop sticks and began to slurp up her ramen that was in a bowl in front of her.

"Make sure you return those bowls!" A man from the ramen booth across from the cried. Zane smiled at him and nodded. As Kuronu slurped up the remainder of her ramen and went to take a bite out of her squid, her eyes gazed at the ferries wheel.

"We have to go on the ferries wheel!" She exclaimed. Zane looked behind him as he watched it go around. He smiled.

"Sure, right after-" Kuronu grabbed her panda and ran off.

"Come on, Zane!" She called. Zane stared at all the un eaten food that littered the table and sighed. He slowly got up and then ran after her.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu gazed down as the box they were in slowly rose higher into the air. "I hope no one steels panda- chan." She commented. As she stared at the ground a sick feeling came over her. She quickly sat back, rocking the open mettle box. She cringed as it rocked back and forth.

"You're not afraid of heights, are you?" Zane asked. Kuronu shook her head.

"Not really. Well, if I'm climbing a tree or something like that, then I'm terrified, but as long as I'm secure in something, I'll be ok." She explained. Though she said this, she didn't feel very secure. The mettle box rocked back and forth more as they rose higher and the wind became stronger. She couldn't help but look down at all the lights. She was curious as to what she could see, or who she could see...or who she could see stealing panda- Chan, if anyone did that is. They were now nearly at the very top; they'd be going down soon. Down. The worst part of the ride. Kuronu leaned over the edge as she saw someone clad in red.

"Hey," She began. "That looks like-" The ride suddenly stopped, rocking the box very hard. Kuronu felt very dizzy as she suddenly felt like she was falling, she closed her eyes as she screamed, when something firm pulled her back and held her close. She suddenly felt incredibly secure, like nothing could hurt her at all. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself right against Zane as he had both his arms around her and was looking worried at her, though almost smiling at the same time.

"You ok?" He asked. Kuronu sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes again.

"I am now," She said softly as an explosion of color suddenly lit up the night sky, followed by a loud bang. Kuronu opened her eyes. "Fire works," She exclaimed as her eyes sparkled.

"And we've got the best seat," Zane said as he pulled her closer. Kuronu slightly blushed as she remembered something her mom had told her.

"Y- you know," She began. "My parents, they uh," Her face became more red by the second. "They had their first kiss on a ferries wheel...when it had stopped at the top...with fire works..." There was an awkward silence, except for the loud 'boom' of the fire works.

Zane turned towards her as she looked up at him. The two locked eyes for a while, until Zane moved in closer, her moved his hand up and placed it on Kuronu's cheek as they both closed heir eyes.

_Ha, this is it! My first kiss and nothing can possibly interrupt us because we're all they way at the top of the ferries wheel! _Kuronu excitedly thought to herself. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment, it was perfect.

Hey Kuronu!!!!!" Some called from ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL the way on the ground. Kuronu nearly fell over the bar again as they were both startled. They looked down and squinted, and there they could just barely see, was Jaden.

"Jaden, that's probably not even them," They heard someone else say, which sounded like Syrus. Kuronu clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"JADEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Both Zane and Kuronu called angrily.

"Yup, that's them," Syrus said.

"They sound angry," Jaden pointed out. "I wonder why." From up there, Zane could almost see an evil beyond all evil smirks cross Syrus' face.

"I bet they were gonna kiss," He could just barely hear him say.

"Eeeewwwww,"

"Why are you saying ew? He's my brother!"

"Huh, good point."

Zane crossed his arms, pouting, as he heard Jaden and Syrus' conversation. Kuronu folded her hands in her lap as she looked down at her feet, blushing. The fire works continued, although neither enjoyed them, because all they could hear was Jaden and Syrus' conversation, and if they could hear it, it meant everyone else could too.

Kuronu eventually drifted off into her own little fantasy world, thinking about anything that came to mind. Suddenly, a certain noise pulled her out of her fantasy world, or more, the lack of noise besides the loud booming. Kuronu looked down to the ground and scanned the area. She blinked several times. Finally, a smile crossed her lips. Zane peered over along with her, also smiling. "They're gone," He said bluntly. Kuronu nodded. The two looked at each other once more.

"So then," Kuronu began, her face becoming red. Zane's arm, which was now resting on the back of the box, slowing inched closer to Kuronu's shoulder. Kuronu scooted closer a few inches. This happened until Kuronu was now sitting right next to Zane, and he had his arm around her shoulder. The two gazed into each others eyes as their faces slowly moved forward. It almost felt like a magnet was pulling them closer, and nothing could break that force, until an enormous wind whirled around them, and then they heard it:

"Zane Truesdale, move away from my daughter."

"That voice," Zane began, his eyes wide. Kuronu's jaw dropped as she looked over.

"D- dad??!!!" Yes, Seto Kaiba was standing on a rope ladder extending from a helicopter with a mega phone in his free hand. The chopper moved closer to the ferries wheel. Kuronu shielded her eyes from the dirt that was swirling around in the vast wind. "Dad, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I had some things I wanted to discuss with the Chancellor, and what do I find when I get here," He lifted the mega phone up to his mouth. "Mr. Truesdale trying to make out with my daughter!" He exclaimed. Kuronu stood up and pushed the mega phone down with both her hands.

"Dad, other people will be able to here you," She cried, very embarrassed. As she pushed the mega phone away, she suddenly felt herself moving forward. She blinked, when suddenly the mettle box tipped completely and Kuronu tumbled out. Zane stood up, shock and terror on his face.

"Kuronuuuu!" He reached out and just in time grabbed the bow around her waist. Kuronu gulped as she looked down. Below people screamed and pointed as she was suspended in the air. She turned her head so she could see Zane.

"Hey Zane, just make sure the ribbon doesn't untie, ok? Because that would be really bad if it did."

Zane reached down with his other hand in an attempt to pull her back up, he looked at Seto. "Care to help out?" He asked with gritted teeth. _Wow, she's heavier then she looks._

"You seem to have the situation under control," Seto replied, when the box once again tipped and now both Kuronu and Zane were falling. Zane wrapped both his arms around Kuronu's waist as he pulled her close against his body. Everything swirled as they fell.

"Zane, I just thought I should tell you that I love you." She cried.

Seto sighed as he watched them fall. With his left hand (the one not holding onto the rope ladder) he motion for the chopper to descend.

Zane was about to reply to what Kuronu had said when he felt something grab his kimono and suddenly they stopped falling. Kuronu's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when she saw how close to the ground they were. Her feet were barely three inches from touching the ground. Kuronu touched the ground with her feet as Zane slowly lowered her. Once she was out of the way, Seto released his grip on Zane's kimono, causing him to fall face first into the dirt. Seto jumped off of the rope later and the chopper hovered away.

Kuronu knelt next to Zane as he pushed himself up. Once he was standing, he brushed him self off and looked at Seto Kaiba. "Thanks," He said, half truthfully, have sarcastically. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley suddenly ran over.

"Kuronu, what happened, are you ok?" Jaden asked all rather quickly. Kuronu nodded.

"Yah, we just had a bit of an accident.

"Accident?!" Syrus exclaimed. "You fell out of the top box on the ferris wheel! You could have died." They then looked over at Seto.

"Why's your dad here?" Jaden whispered. Kuronu shrugged.

"I don't know, but like you guys, he ruined everything." Jaden and Syrus looked at each other.

"What does she mean by 'we ruin everything?'" Jaden asked. Syrus shrugged in response. Seto narrowed his eyes as he looked at Zane.

_FLASH BACK_

_Seto sat in the chopper as he headed towards duel academy, he held a black shiny cell phone next to his ear. "Isn't it so cute how they love each other?" Meisha asked, referring to Zane and Kuronu. Seto narrowed his eyes. _

_"They love each other huh? I'll be the judge of that." There was a pause._

_"Seto Kaiba, what are you going to do?"_

_"Nothing really," Seto replied with an evil smirk on his face. "I have to go now; I'll see you when I get back,"_

_"Seto, don't you dare-"_

_"Love you," And with that, he hung up. "This is going to be an enjoyable evening." _

_END FLASH BACK_

"Mr. Truesdale, could I talk to you for a moment?" Seto inquired, although he wasn't really inquiring, but more demanding. Zane wordlessly followed. Kuronu blinked.

"What do you think your dad wants to talk to him about?" Chumley wondered. Kuronu bit her lip. She then looked over as she saw a couple looking at the bench across from them as a giant stuff panda sat on it.

"Ha, look, it's so cute," The girl said. "I wonder whose it is," Kuronu quickly ran over and snatched up the bear, hugging it tightly.

"Go get your own panda- Chan," She said.

"S sorry, I was just looking at it," The girl said as she pulled her boy friend away.

Seto closed his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Look, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it," Seto slowly opened his eyes. "I want you to break up with Kuronu."

Zane's eyes widened. He felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach very, very hard and as though a huge rock had been dropped on his head. A soft wind gently blew his dark blueish green hair. Zane clenched his fists as he lowered his head and his eyes became dark.

"I just don't think Kuronu is very safe with you, especially after what just happened, it's nothing that personal against you, I just want to make sure that my daughter has the best she possibly can, and I don't really see you as being the best." Seto explained. Zane gently nodded his head; he knew it'd be futile to go against what Seto Kaiba said. He'd find a way to keep them apart for sure if he didn't break up with her. Seto stared at him. "So then we're in agreement? Good,"

An image of Kuronu suddenly flashed through Zane's mind. She was smiling broadly as he bright blew eyes sparkled and she laughed.

_FLASH BACK_

"_Hey!" one of the boys shouted. "What's a girl doing in here?" Zane pulled on his shirt and the three boys walked over to the girl._

"_Ow." She said quietly. The one boy helped her to her feet, and then frowned at her._

"_Who are you and what are you doing in the boy's locker room?" he asked._

"_Sorry." Kuronu said, rubbing her arm. "I'm new here and I sort of got lost." She said half laughing. Zane narrowed his eyes. _

"_You're not an obelisk, are you?" he asked. The brown hair girl shook her head._

"_Nope, I'm a slifer." The two boys gasped, Zane raised an eye brow. _

_NEW FLASH BACK_

_Zane chuckled. "Here, let me help you." Zane knelt down and carefully put his one arm under her back and his other arm under legs and lifted her up into his arms. Kuronu blushed as he carried her over to her bed and sat her down on it. He then got her crutches and placed them next to Kuronu. Zane smiled as he watched Kuronu play with her fingers too embarrassed to look up at the obelisk. "Need some help with your crutches?" Zane asked her._

_Kuronu smiled at him. "Help would be nice." She said standing up with the help of her crutches. Zane helped her to the middle of the room. _

"_Ok," he said, moving her hands down to the place where she was to hold them. With Zane's help, Kuronu managed to get all the way to the other side of the room. When the reached the window, Kuronu leaned against the window sill and stared out the window._

"_Thank you." She said quietly. "If you hadn't come, who knows how long I would've been stuck on the floor." _

_Zane chuckled. "No problem." _

"_What were you doing here anyways?" Kuronu asked._

"_I came to see you." Zane said. Kuronu blushed._

_NEW FLASH BACK_

_Zane smiled. He placed his hand on the side of Kuronu's head and tilted it onto his shoulder. _

"_Don't worry," he whispered. "Everything is going to turn out fine, I promise." _

_NEW FLASH BACK_

_Kuronu was standing in front of a mirror, singing some sort of love song while brushing her hair. Zane leaned against the door frame._

"_You look at me, I look away_

I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,   
But I don't know how to start  
I wanna tell you, but now  
I'm afraid that you might break my heart  
Oh why should anything so easy ever  
Be so hard to do  
I wanna tell you what I'm feeling,   
And to say that I love," Right then, she saw Zane in the reflection of the mirror, "Zane!" She dropped her brush and turned bright red, realizing what she had just said. Zane raised an eyebrow.

"_I mean, not you Zane, like, 'you', the, ack, gaa (makes all these weird sounds) the song! It's, (continues to make weird sounds)" Zane chuckled. "It's stupid!" Her face was a deep, deep, dark shade of red. _

_NEW FLASH BACK_

_Zane stared out one of the windows in his room. It wasn't raining, but it was dark and depressed looking. Alexis opened his door and smiled at him. "Zane, breakfast is ready." She informed him. He smiled. _

"_Ok, I'll be right down." The blonde haired girl closed the door. Zane continued to look out the window. This weird state of depression seemed to have fallen upon everyone. His heart seemed to skip a beat when he remembered what Haru had said the day she fainted._

"_She looks so peaceful when she's unconscious." _

_For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about it, but what disturbed him the most was that he had to agree with him. She did look peaceful. It was a feeling that he had never felt before, and he wasn't sure of what it was._

_NEW FLASH BACK_

"_You look amazing." He told her. Kuronu blushed. Her hair was down and wavy. She had on a long dark red dress with spaghetti straps._

"_Really to look great you." She replied. Everyone looked at her weirdly as her face turned even redder. "I mean, great you look too really." She said quickly. She covered her mouth. Zane chuckled._

_XXXXX_

"_And the king and queen for tonight's dance are," Sheppard began... ...Sheppard turned and looked directly at Zane and Kuronu. "You two came in second, congrats." He said. Kuronu's face turned bright red while Zane's cheeks turned a bit pink._

_NEW FLASH BACK_

_"I couldn't quite figure out what those feelings were, until recently." Zane's cheeks turned slightly red. "I-," He narrowed his eyes. "I love you." _

_The words hit Kuronu like a rock. A light breeze tossed her hair around. They both stared at each other again for a long while. The words hadn't quite sunk into Kuronu yet. "I realized this when Abidos captured your soul. I've been waiting for the right moment to tell you, because I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep these feelings bottled up for long, but the moment never came...until now." He then streamed his fingers through her wet hair. _

_"Zane," Kuronu whispered. _

_"I don't know if you feel the same for me," He continued..._

_Kuronu clutched her head and ran to the edge of the balcony. She fell down onto her he knees and began to bang her head on the wall. _

_"Kuronu?" Zane asked as he took a step towards her. _

_"Stupid," She muttered as she continued to bang her head. Blood began to trickle down._

_"Kuronu, you're bleeding," Zane told her as he knelt down next to her. "I'm sorry," He put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I just..."_

_"STOP IT!!" Kuronu blurted out. Zane blinked. She held her head in her hands as she breathed hard. _

_"Ok," he then proceeded to stand up. Kuronu's eyes shot open. _

_"N- No, wait," Kuronu stood up as she covered scratch on her forehead. "I wasn't telling you to stop, I was shouting to myself because, well I don't know, because I'm me, and for some reason I couldn't say what I've been wanting to say for so long now," She said very quickly. "I-" Her voice suddenly stopped. "I really, really like you Zane!" It was now Zane's turn to stare at her blankly while she told him about how she liked hi. "I've liked you for a really long time, but I didn't tell you because I thought that you could never like me and then things would be really awkward and we'd never speak to each other again-"_

_Zane put his index finger over her lips. "Why would you think I wouldn't like you?" _

_"Well... You're just...so good at everything, and I'm constantly messing up, like I couldn't even win that duel against Rose, and the necklace you gave me broke, and..." _

_"Kuronu," Zane took in a small breath. "Would you...be my girl friend?" _

_Kuronu slowly nodded once, then several times. "Yes, I'd like that."_

_END FLASHBACKS_

Seto began to walk away. "Mr. Kaiba," Zane finally said. Seto glanced back at him. "I- I can't do that, I can't break up with her." Seto raised an eyebrow.

"And why's that?" He asked.

"Because..." Zane straightened up and looked Seto right in the eyes. "I love her." After a moment, Seto smirked.

"I see," He shrugged as he walked past the obelsik student. "Well, then I guess that's that." He said as he walked away. Zane blinked.

"Wait...that's it?" Seto stopped and looked back.

"Well, if you truly love her," Zane suddenly realized that he had just been tested, and as Seto proceeded to walk away, he then realized that he had passed. He walked back to where Kuronu, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley were standing. Kuronu looked over.

"What did my dad want to talk to you about?" She asked anxiously. Zane smiled at her.

"It's nothing," He said. He then leaned down and lightly kissed her on the top of her head, then pulled her into a tight embrace. Kuronu was a bit confused for a moment, but ignored it and closed her eyes as she rested her head against his chest as she held her panda bear that Zane had won for her.

Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley cringed. "Ok, we'll, uh, leave you guys alone now." Jaden said as the three boys walked away.

XXXXXXXX

Rose sighed as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Come on Zane, you can't stay in there forever," She said as she stood out said the guy restroom. The door then opened and a boy with short brown hair came out. "Excuse me, is Zane ok?" She asked. "He went in there hours ago and hasn't returned." The boy cocked his head.

"Um, there's no one else in there," He said as he pushed the door open. In the back was an open window. Rose's jaw dropped. "So my guess would be, he ditched you, and you just waited your whole night standing out side the guys bath rooms." The boy chuckled. Rose clenched her fists, then outstretched her fingers and slashed her long red fingernails across his cheek.

"BAKA!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed as the boy ran away. Rose kicked the building. She then looked over and saw Zane, his arm around Kuronu and her head on his shoulder as they laughed. They walked past her, and away from the carnival. Rose's eye twitched. "Once again, Miss Kaiba, you may have won the battle, but the war is far from over!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authoresses note: Alrighty, REALLY long chapter, lots of flashbacks, but hey, at least it's an update. So, please review, and no harsh flames. Now that this chapter is out of the way, I should be able to get another update up soon. Oh yah, sorry if ferris is spelled weirdly or other typos, see…my spell check is kinda stupid.


	48. A Day at the Beach

Chapter 48: A day at the Beach

Kuronu kept her eyes tightly shut as she held her clenched fists up in front of her chest. "Please get and A, please, please, **pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaase **be an A." She whispered. She then felt a hand touch her shoulder. She opened her eye and saw Alexis smiling at her.

"Relax, I'm sure you did fine," The blonde assured her.

The two girls were sitting in the obelisk section in the freshmen class room. Kuronu was wearing her normal dark navy obelisk uniform where the blazer was left open; the difference was that she was still wearing the black shorts underneath from the slifer uniform her brothers gave her. Crowler was walking around the room, returning tests to the students.

He was now almost upon them. Kuronu snapped her eyes shut once more. Crowler placed a white sheet of paper in front of her and went on. The youngest Kaiba her right eye and slowly lifted up the paper as Alexis was smiling next to her having gotten an A. Kuronu lifted up the paper, her eyes became as big as dinner plates.

"C-!!!!!!!!!????" She exclaimed, causing everyone to look at her. Alexis peered over her shoulder and cringed at the large C- minus written in red ink on the top of the page. Kuronu banged her head down onto the desk and let out a huge sigh. Alexis sympathetically patted her shoulder.

XXXXXXXXX

Kuronu frowned as she looked at the C- minus as she left the building with Jaden, Syrus, Alexis, Bastion, and Chazz.

"I can't believe I got a C-," Kuronu said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about it, its better then what I got," Jaden told her, trying to cheer her up. Kuronu weekly smiled at him. "Don't let one little test pull you down."

Kuronu stood up straighter. "You're right, I should worry about this one stupid test, besides, Zane and I are going to the beach today, so I will not allow this to bother me!" With that she ripped up her test and through it in the trash can.

"Uh, Kuronu," Bastion began. "You just threw your test away," He reminded her. Kuronu blinked. "And if my memory is correct, your parents specifically requested that you send your tests to them."

"Oh my gosh!" Kuronu exclaimed. "You're right!"

"Of course I'm right."

Kuronu dove up into the air and then landed face first into the trash can. "Darn it, why'd I have to rip it up into such tiny pieces?" Her legs flailed back and forth as they stuck up from the can.

"Um," Came the voice of someone from behind everyone. They all turned around and saw Zane, his one eyebrow raised as he watched Kuronu. "Why is Kuronu in the trash can?" He asked.

"How can he tell it's her?" Syrus whispered to Jaden, who shrugged.

"Must have something to do with them dating, plus, who else would be in the trash can?"

"Oh yah, good point."

"Ah- ha! I think I have it all!" Kuronu's legs stopped flailing around as the large can tipped over. Everyone winced. "Ow," Kuronu climbed out of the trash can as a banana peel was on her head. Her eyes immediately fell to Zane as he stared at her. Her cheeks flushed a deep red, and then she climbed back into the trash can and curled up.

Zane reach out his hand as she crawled back. "K- Kuronu, do go in the trash can," He sighed, though a small smile crossed his face at the same time.

XXXXXXXXXX

Atticus stared out into the ocean as he sat on his jet boat. The waves gently moved him up and down, but he didn't notice much.

_FLASH BACK_

_"Your dad was here?" He asked as he was in a dark purple kimono at the fair. _

_"Yah," Kuronu replied with a sigh. "Unfortunately_

_"Do you think he's still here?"_

_"I don't know, he had something to discuss with Chancellor Sheppard__, but I think he was going to leave right after, or early tomorr__ow, why?"_

_"Huh, oh no reason, I was just wondering how Mal was doing, that's all." Atticus scratched the back of his head as his cheeks flushed a soft pink. Kuronu blinked. She then clenched her fists as her eyes became downcast. "Uh, what's wrong?" _

_Kuronu closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly re opened them. "Um, Atticus, earlier__ today, my mom called, she... she told me that Mallory... Mal's gone," She whispered. Atticus stared at her with a blank look. "No one knows__ where she is, or even if she al__ive,"_

_END FLASHBACK_

Atticus narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry Mal, I... I failed you.

XXXXXXXXX

After having gotten a shower, Kuronu was wearing a pair of shorts and a white T- shirt and flip flops. She held a dark blue towel closely against her body as she ran down to the beach. Her hair was pulled up into pig tails. She ran down across the hot sand and along the beach until she found a spot that wasn't very crowded. She sighed as she gazed at the ocean.

_I hope Zane can find me, _She thought to herself as she looked around. She then saw a tall figure with greenish blue hair walk towards her. She smiled and waved.

Zane also wore a white T- shirt, but he had on long dark blue swim trunks that reached his knees. A light blue towel was slung over his shoulder.

"Hey," She said. He smiled.

"Hey," A soft wind blew as the two stood there in awkward silence.

Kuronu's eyebrow slightly twitched as she was still smiling. _Why does this __always happen? _"Ah, so... I guess we should like, um... swim...or something. _What does one do at the beach__ anyways? _

"Good plan," Zane replied. He put his towel down and then pulled off his shirt. Kuronu's cheeks flushed a very, very deep red as she couldn't stop her self from staring at his muscular figure, yet it was slender at the same time. She turned away from him so she was now facing the ocean.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha...n- no," She laughed. She then took off her shirt and shorts to reveal a dark crimson one piece swim suite. She then walked towards the water as the waves lapped up at her toes.

"Holy crap!" She exclaimed as she ran back and sat down on her towel. She hugged her legs against her body. "The water is FREEZING." Zane chuckled. He then had an idea.

"You want to build a sand castle?" He asked as he sat down on the sand next to her. Kuronu looked at him, a little surprised that he would suggest building a sand castle, but the feeling passed as she smiled and nodded.

"Yah, I love building sand castles," She exclaimed. She stood up and looked around. "So... I don't suppose you have a pail or shovel, do you?" Zane fell backwards anime style. He sat up and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh yah, those might be helpful." He then thought of something and snapped his fingers. "I bet Syrus has a pail and shovel."

"Oh yah, I kind of recall seeing one in his dorm." Kuronu thought as she stroked her chin. "I think they were going to the beach as well."

"I'll be right then," Zane stood up and then sprinted down the beach.

Kuronu sighed and collapsed onto the ground as her cheeks turned red again. Red eyes black chick appeared next to her and squawked. "Yah, he does look really hot when running without a shirt on." Red eyes squawked again. "Yah, I am the luckiest girl at duel academy."

XXXXXXX

Zane soon saw a group of students standing by the end of the beach, one of which was Syrus.

"Syrus," He began as he approached his younger brother. Everyone turned around and looked at him.

"Zane, what are you doing here?" Syrus asked. Zane was about to reply when he saw Chazz and Jaden a little ways off, they were dueling.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Oh, Jaden and Chazz are dueling for a chance to go on a date with Alexis." Syrus replied. Zane raised an eyebrow; he then looked over at Alexis who had her eyes closed and her arms crossed. "Originally, Chazz was going to duel Alexis, but then Atticus came and thought it'd be more exciting if Chazz dueled against Jaden, winner gets to duel Alexis."

"Jaden wants to go on a date with Alexis?" Zane asked. Syrus shrugged.

"He probably just couldn't give up the chance at a duel."

"I see... oh yes, do you have a pail and shovel?" Syrus blinked.

"Why would you want those?"

"Kuronu wants to build a sand castle."

"Oh, ok, I'll be right back." Syrus ran off to the slifer dorms. Zane then turned his attention to the duel. Chazz was slightly in the lead, but it seemed Jaden would soon catch up. Once Syrus returned with the two items, Zane jogged back to Kuronu.

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu sat on her spread out towel as she held her legs close to her body with her left hand and drew in the sand with her right. With her index finger she drew a heart shape, and then began to write her and Zane's name inside. She smiled at the heart. She then saw Zane coming back and quickly messed up the sand so that the heart and names were no longer visible.

Kuronu stood up as Zane was no a few feet away. He had a weird smirk on his face. "You're not going to believe what Jaden and Chazz are dueling for," Kuronu cocked her head to the side.

"Um, what?"

"A date with Alexis." Kuronu blinked once, then again, and once more for good measure.

"Jaden wants a date with Alexis?" Zane shrugged. "I can see Chazz...but Jaden?" She stroked her chin for a moment, then smiled and let out a squeal. "I knew they would be a cute couple." She then saw the pail and shovel. "Yosh! Let us build a sand castle!" She exclaimed.

The two immediately began work on their castle. They picked a spot not too close to the water, but not too far away.

**A FEW HOURS LATER**

Kuronu and Zane smiled, satisfied, as they gazed at the enormous sand castle in front of them. It was at least twenty feet high.

"I've built some pretty awesome castles before, but this one takes the cake," Kuronu gaped as she shielded her eyes from the sun. Zane nodded.

"Yah, it's not too bad." Zane remarked. A soft breeze blew. Zane looked over as Kuronu stood next to him, hew hair gently blowing back and forth in her pigtails. "We should probably get going soon," He said. Kuronu nodded.

"So...do we just leave it here?" She asked. Zane looked up at the giant structure.

"I guess..." A huge wave suddenly came up and crashed onto the beach, drenching both Kuronu and Zane, and damaging the base of the castle, causing the rest to fall over. The two blinked as more waves pulled the sand back to the water. "Or the water will take care of it," Kuronu blinked several times as she pondered where the huge wave came from. Usually waves were never that big by the time they got to the shore, in fact they were no where near that big.

It was almost like a very, very, very tiny tsunami that only came up in that one area. Kuronu cringed as a tinkling feeling came over her nose. She cupped her hands over her nose and mouth as she let out a small sneeze. Zane looked down at her.

"Are you ok?" He asked. Kuronu sniffed.

"Yah, just a sneeze," She said as she waved her hand.

Zane softly smiled at her. He placed his hand on her cheek and leaned in closer. Kuronu took a small step forward as she began to close her eyes.

Suddenly, there was a huge earth quake. Kuronu stumbled forward and fell into Zane, who caught her and wrapped his arms around her. The shaking soon stopped. Zane looked around.

"What in the world," He muttered. Kuronu followed his gaze and her eyes fell onto several tall pointy pillars sticking up through the trees a little ways into the forest.

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Authoresses' note: Alrighty, I guess I'll end it there. Please review, no harsh flames.


	49. Kuronu in Wonderland

Authoress' note: Ok, I don't feel like doing the whole first half of the duel between Jaden and Kagemaru, plus I couldn't find the episode to watch anywhere, so basically I'm starting where Kagemaru has that young, youthful body with the long hair and the really short skirt, and I just remembering him saying this one line and that's when I thought of this chapter when they first aired the episode, so enjoy.

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Chapter 49: Kuronu in wonderland.

XXXXXXXXX

"Something's missing," Kagemaru began.

"Ah, maybe your shirt!?" Kuronu exclaimed as she hid behind Zane. "And some pants would be nice as well." She suddenly felt a tickle around her nose. She blinked several times as she let out a sneeze. She then whipped her nose with her right index finger.

Zane whirled around and grabbed both her shoulders, a worried look on his face. "Kuronu, are you alright?"

"Oh, yah, I'm fine. It was just a sneeze." She said. Zane placed his hand on her forehead and scowled.

"It feels like you're getting a fever." He said.

"A fever?!" Syrus exclaimed.

"You'd better go to the infirmary," Jaden said, taking a break from his duel. Kuronu shook her head.

"Nah, I'm fine." Kuronu's smile suddenly disappeared as everything became fuzzy and she suddenly felt dizzy.

"Kuronu?" Zane asked as she stood there with a blank look on her face. Her eyes suddenly became all swirly like as she began to fall backwards. Zane quickly reached out and caught her before she fell.

"Kuronu!" Jaden called as he began to run over to where everyone else was.

"Hey, you can't leave!" Kagemaru shouted. "We're in the middle of a duel!"

"Oh yah, sorry," Jaden said, though he was still looking back to where everyone was crowded around Kuronu.

XXXXXXX

Kuronu fell down through darkness, her eyes were closed. She felt a soft impact on her back as something cold and wet engulfed her. She gently opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by dark blue water. She gasped and fully opened her eyes as she looked around.

She was under water, gently falling, her hair wildly flailing around her. It was then that she realized she could see perfectly, despite being under water, and she could also breath, but right as she thought this, her vision became bleary as the water stung against her eyes and she could no longer inhale oxygen. She covered her mouth as she closed her eyes.

She began to swim up, hoping very much that she wouldn't hit anything. _Where am I? _She thought as she swam. _How did I get here? _She wasn't sure how much longer she could last with out any air. She opened her eyes a crack, but when she looked up to the surface she only saw darkness. Kuronu panicked for a moment. She looked all around and finally down where she saw a faint light.

She closed her eyes for a moment, her lungs tightened, longing for oxygen. She opened her eyes again and swam down as quickly as she could. Her hand went through the bright light as she pulled her self above the water.

She took in the biggest breath of air she ever had as her head bobbed above the water. Kuronu looked around. She placed her right index finger on her chin as she treaded water with her legs.

"Did I just come up...by going down?" It perplexed her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with an explanation. It was then that she decided to take in her surroundings. She was in what appeared to be a long rectangular pool. Thick green trees surrounded the area. Kuronu swam over to the edge of the pool and pulled her self out onto the soft dirt. She sighed.

"What is this place?" She asked herself aloud. She glanced down and gasped as she saw that she was no longer wearing her normal clothes, but instead some weird white strapless 'swim suite' and white boots that came up to above her ankles. "How did I get in this weird outfit?!" She exclaimed as she looked herself over.

She turned her head back and then saw a white fluffy bunny tail on her back side. She was now really scared. Just when she thought it couldn't get any weirder she felt something tap her head. She looked up as best she could and saw a pair of white floppy bunny ears sticking out of her head. Her eyes became as large as dinner plates as she let out a high pitched scream. Her eyes rolled back as she collapsed to the ground.

Kuronu's eyes fluttered. She saw something blue above her. She fully opened her eyes and gasped. "Syrus!" She exclaimed. She sat up and turned around. "I'm so glad you're h-" She stopped and stared at him. It was Syrus' head alright, but his body was what appeared to be a train as his limbs stuck out of it.

"I'm late!" The boy exclaimed. He stood up and ran past her and into the woods. Kuronu blinked several times.

"Oh my gosh!" She finally shouted. "Syrus isn't wearing any pants!" She was just thankful that the train suite thingy came down past what she really would've rather not seen. Kuronu stood up and went to run after to him, but as she took a step, it some how turned into a hop, and her hands were now in front of her curved down in some weird manner. She blinked. She put her arms down by her side and went to take another step, but the same thing happened again.

She narrowed her eyes as she tried walking many more times, but each time it turned into a hop. "I. WANT. TO. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLKKKK!!!!!!" She shouted as she hopped around the pool several times, but to no avail. She breathed very hard as she stopped. "FINE! I'll hop!" She put her hands up in front of her and hopped into the forest as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast.

After hopping for several minuets- or was it hours? She couldn't tell- she heard muttering. Kuronu looked all around until she saw something on a very large plant. Kuronu hopped over to it and gazed up. "Either the plants here are really big," She looked around and noticed that everything else was huge. "Or I got really small..."

She sighed. She put one foot on the stem and went to take a step up, but instead she jumped up and hit her head on a leaf, then fell back down the earth. "Oh, so I can't even climb?!" Kuronu grumbled as she stood up, of course with a little hop. Kuronu bent her knees, and then sprang up into the air several feet above the tall plant. The ground disappeared as she fly high into the air, then she began to fall.

Just in time she grabbed onto the top leaf of the plant she had been trying to climb. She struggled for a moment, but finally pulled herself up. She panted for a moment.

"Hello," Came a voice. Kuronu screamed, startled. She looked over and nearly fainted. There in front of her was a huge fat yellow caterpillar with the face of Bastion. Kuronu blinked.

"B- Bastion?"

"Yes?"

"You're... a caterpillar."

"Hm, yes, thanks for stating the obvious." The stared at each other for a moment.

"Why are you a caterpillar?"

"Why are you a bunny?"

"Yah see, I don't know, I'm confused, where are we?" Kuronu sighed as she said this, never before in her entire life had she been more confused than this, and she had been pretty confused before.

"We're in Wonderland." Bastion replied.

"Wonderland?" Kuronu echoed.

"Yes, Wonderland, the place with the cliché name where a young girl falls asleep and their dream is very weird and abnormal." Kuronu blinked once more.

"What do you mean cliché? What do you mean by that?" Bastion sighed.

"Look, if you don't know then I'm not telling you." Kuronu glared at him for a moment.

"Wait, you said this is just a dream?" Bastion sighed once more.

"I'm a caterpillar, you're a rabbit, the place is called wonderland, you had to swim down to go up, and everything here is huge, no, of course this isn't a dream, this is completely real."

Kuronu cocked her head to the side. "You're really crabby here."

"Yes, well, how would you feel if you were a caterpillar?"

"I don't think I'd like it very much," Kuronu replied. She looked around. "Hey, have you seen Syrus?"

"No, why?"

"I dunno, I just saw him and he had the body of a train or something and he was screaming that he was late so I just thought it'd be fun to see where he was going."

"I see... then you'd best get going."

"Yah, I guess I should. Welp, see ya Bastion, hope your situation improves." With that Kuronu hopped down. As her feet hit the ground, they pushed off the dirt and sent her up several feet into the air. Kuronu screamed as she flew up into the air, then back down, and as soon as her feet hit the earth, they bounced back up.

"How do you stop??!!!"

Kuronu had finally managed to go back to hopping normally, and now she was lost. Well, she was pretty much lost as soon as she got there, but now she was really lost. "I wonder where Syrus went..." She then saw him running towards a large bush.

"I'm so late," He cried. It looked as though he'd just slam right into the bush, but he didn't; he ran right through it.

Kuronu quickly hopped over as fast as she could. She was expecting to see a hole shaped exactly like Syrus' body like in the cartoons, but the bush looked completely untouched. "What the-" She said as she extended her hand. She went to touch it, but instead her hand went right through. She blinked. "How queer," With that said she stepped all the way through.

On the other side was a grassy path with a long, straight row of trees on both sides. And of course, Syrus was no where to be seen. "How does he disappear so quickly?" She wondered aloud. She slowly began to hop forward. "It'd be a lot easier if I could just walk, but noooooooo, I have to be in a stupid bunny suit and all I can do is hop." She began to hop faster as she became annoyed. "I mean, what kind of place is this, I've had weird dreams before but this one takes the cake, what in the world did I eat last night?"

She was now hopping rather quickly, but due to the fact that she was annoyed/ confused, she did not notice the piece of string that extended from one tree to another one exactly across from it be pulled taunt. Kuronu tripped over the rope and went tumbling to the ground at an incredible speed, and somehow managed to hit one of the trees.

Kuronu's eyes were all swirly as she lay against the tree in a weird position. She was suddenly brought out of her gaze by familiar laughs. "Those laughs, could it be-"

"Foolish little bunny sister," Haru said as he stepped out from behind one tree.

"Who else could it be, but us," Hiro said as he stepped from behind the tree directly across from Haru's.

"Your dashing young charismatic brothers!" they said in perfect unison as they put their arms around each other. Kuronu's eye twitched.

"Charismatic?" The twins gracefully leaped towards her as they wore some weird fairytale prince outfit. It was then that Kuronu noticed that Haru's usually freakishly spiked hair, was not spiked, and so was very long, about shoulder length. Sparkles appeared around them as they leaped through the air, and landed next to their bunny sister.

"Haru, your hair is so long!" Kuronu exclaimed as she stared at the shoulder length long silky brown hair that was some how blowing neatly and beautifully around him despite the fact there was so wind._ Wow, it's almost like dad's gravity defying trench coat._

"Yes, and what big teeth you have," Kuronu glared at him.

"The better to bite you with."

"Silly bunny sister," Hiro said as he patted her on the head. "This is Wonderland, not little red riding hood."

"Yah, get your stories straight."

"Why do you guys have to be here?" She mumbled.

"Hey, it's your dream," They both said together. They then stood up and leaped away as a light from heaven shone down on them. Kuronu blinked.

"They seem to be gayer here then they are in real life...if that's possible," Kuronu said as she began to untwist herself. When she was standing again, she put her hands on her hips and leaned back until she heard a crack. "Wow, it's a wonder I didn't break anything. Now, on to finding Syrus," She began to hop away again until she though of something. "Wait, why am I looking for Syrus again? ah well."

She hopped down the path until she found herself in front of a gate. She looked around. "Where, it would appear there's no where to go but foreword." She pushed the gate open. _I hope no one sues me for trespassing. _When she pushed the gate open, she found herself in a small garden with a long table. Sitting at the head of the table was Jaden, wearing a very tall hat. Chazz, Cumley, and Alexis were also there. They appeared to be having a tea party.

"Jaden," She exclaimed as she ran over.

"Hey Kuronu, care to join us in our tea party?" Jaden asked. Kuronu shook her head.

"No thanks, have so you seen Syrus?" The four people sitting there pointed to an open gate not too far from where Kuronu was standing.

"Yah, he just left,"

"Thanks, for some reason I feel some weird urge to chase him for no apparent reason," She said as she hopped off.

"Wait, you mean you're cheating on Zane?" Alexis called to her.

"Noooo!!!"

"Nice bunny suit by the way!" Jaden called right before she disappeared. He went to take a sip of his tea when he saw Alexis glaring at him. "What?"

"Oh, so you think Kuronu looks nice in a bunny suit, huh?" Alexis coldly as she crossed her arms. "Well then maybe I should go around in a bunny suit also,"

"Alexis, what are you talking about?"

XXXXXXXX

Kuronu hopped as fast as she could through the forest until she saw a large arch shaped bush. "Syrus has to be there," Though she still didn't understand why she wanted to find him so badly, after all, he wasn't wearing any pants. She hopped through the arch where she saw what looked like a court room. In front of her was a stand, and on either side were some bleachers filled with all sorts of people. At the end of the room was a large stand with a chair with its back turned to her.

Kuronu then saw Syrus in the 'jury stand'. She was about to call out to him when a loud, booming voice filled the room. "So, the guilty one has finally arrived," Kuronu looked around. "Step onto the witness stand, Miss Kaiba." Kuronu looked around.

"Wait, I'm guilty? Guilty of-"

"Step onto the witness stand!!" Kuronu hopped up as quickly as she could. The chair then began to turn around. As it did, the bright blue sky began to turn a dark gray as thunder was heard and lightning flashed. The person in the chair stood up just as another large flash of lightning shot through the sky, illuminating the judge. Kuronu screamed.

A gun shot was then heard as a bullet flew right passed Kuronu, silencing her.

"Would you stop that shrieking? It's killing my ear drums!"

"M- M- Mallory?!" Kuronu exclaimed as she gazed up at her sister.

"Yes, that's right, I've returned from the dead to haunt your dreams,"

"D- Dead?! Wait, how are you dead? You mean you killed yourself?!" Kuronu nearly fainted.

"Yes, I was sick of everything, so I burned myself that way no would a body." Kuronu suddenly felt very sick as her eyes became very wide. She grabbed her bunny ears and covered them as best she could.

_This is only a nightmare, only a nightmare, only a nightmare!_

"Anyways, let's get back to the subject at hand." Mallory lifted up a mallet and slammed it down. "Guilty!"

"Guilty? Of what?" Kuronu asked.

Mallory shrugged. "Does it matter, you're guilty, and now we get to the fun part." The woman smirked the evilest of evil smirks. "OFF WITH HER HEAD!" Kuronu froze. She wanted to scream and run away, get out of this nightmare, but she couldn't move, she couldn't even scream.

She gazed up at her sinisterly smirking sister. She quickly placed her hand over her mouth as she felt her lunch stir in her stomach. Her view of her sister was then blocked as a tall figure wearing a suit of armor stood over her, in his hands was an ax. He raised the ax as drums were playing. Kuronu snapped her eyes shut.

_Wait, I can't die in my dream! If I die in my dream then I die in real life...right? And Mallory... did she really..._ Her stomach felt as though it had just done a flip, churning up her lunch. She heard the swoosh of the ax as it came down, when something suddenly grabbed her and held her close to their body.

Kuronu cracked open an eye and saw that she was moving forward through the air very quickly, but she was jumping. She opened her other eye and looked up, realizing that her rescuer, was Zane.

"Are you alright?" He asked as his eyes sparkled. Kuronu nodded, she then fully took in her surroundings. Zane was swinging on a vine, like Tarzan, worst part was he was dressed like Tarzan as well. He was shirtless, in fact, pant less as well. The only thing he was wearing was a leopard skin mini skirt. Kuronu face turned a deep crimson as she looked up, not daring to look down. Zane suddenly jumped off of the vine he was on and grabbed onto another one. It was amazing how far you could swing on one vine.

She wrapped her arms around his waist to make sure she wouldn't fall, not that she doubted Zane's arm strength and ability to hold her up while swinging on vines wearing nothing but a leopard skirt, but you can never be too safe.

Several vines later, Zane let go again, though this time he didn't grab another vine. "Wait, what are you doing, we're going to-!" Zane gently landed on a rock surrounded by water. Behind them was a large waterfall. Kuronu slowly stepped back as she looked around. "Well then..." Zane stepped forward and placed both of his hands on her bare shoulders as he gazed into her eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Y- Yes, thank you for saving me," She wanted to call him Tarzan for some reason. Zane streamed his fingers through her brown hair as he leaned closer.

"You're by far the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Kuronu blushed again as she closed her eyes.

_I don't care if it's a dream, it's still a kiss!_ Kuronu went to step forward when she slipped and fell back wards she gasped as she fell back towards the water.

XXXXXXXXXX

Something hard hit the back of Kuronu's head, or her head hit something hard, either way, an incredible pain shot through her head. Kuronu groaned. Something damp rested on her nose. She didn't care what it was, it was cold, and so she placed it on her forehead. She opened her eyes a crack and found she was staring up and something white. She looked around and on either side of her saw metal bed frames.

"This is...the infirmary." She said as she was on the floor. She slowly sat up, her head felt like a bowling ball. She sat there a moment, her elbow resting against the bed she had been sleeping in with her head against her forehead to keep the towel in place. She closed eyes and tried to remember what had happened before her strange dream. Her eyes suddenly shot open.

"Jaden!" She slowly stood up, an incredibly dizziness came over her whole body as she slowly walked towards the door. She then began to walk faster until she was running. She grabbed the door knob and went to push it open when it was suddenly pulled and she fell forward. A pair of firm sturdy arms, yet gentle at the same time caught her and pulled her close as she fell to the floor.

"Kuronu?" Kuronu looked up and saw Zane; a worried expression was on his face. "What are you doing, you shouldn't be walking around." Kuronu closed her eyes as she forgot about everything else. Zane smiled softly at her, he streamed his fingers through her hair.

"Kuronu, have I ever told you how incredibly beautiful you are?" Kuronu looked up at him, her cheeks pink. The two leaned forward as they both sat on the floor, when some thing suddenly tripped over Zane, pushing him down, but his lips didn't collide with Kuronu's, but instead went past her and hit the floor, knocking Kuronu down.

As Zane sat up he whipped his mouth. "When was the last time this floor was washed?" He then looked down and saw Kuronu, her eyes were all swirly. Zane looked to see what had ruined their kiss, and wasn't surprised. "Jaden," He said bluntly. Jaden rubbed his head as he sat up. He looked over and saw Zane glaring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Look what you did to Kuronu,"

"He don't glare at me, it was you guys who were sitting in the middle of the floor."

Kuronu blinked. She found herself staring up at Zane, though his gorgeous whatever colored eyes weren't gazing into hers unfortunately. No, his gorgeous whatever colored eyes were glaring at someone, but who? Probably the person who had tripped over Zane, causing him to push her down thus she hit her already throbbing head on the floor and was knocked out for a moment. She rolled her eyes back as best she could to try to see who was there.

Instantly she pushed her self up and crawled over quicker than anyone would've thought possible and wrapped her arms around the boy's neck. "Jaden, you're ok!" She exclaimed.

"Gah, Kuronu, it's great to see you too."

"What happened, tell me everything, is the world safe?!"

"You're... choking... me..." Kuronu leaned back and released her grip from Jaden's neck.

"Sorry," She said. Jaden sighed. "So, what happened?!"

"Ok, well," Jaden told her about the duel in excruciating detail describing every single card that was played after Kuronu had fainted. "So yah, that's basically it." He said. Kuronu smiled. Jaden stood up and brushed off his pants. "Well, I'll leave you two alone now," Both Zane and Kuronu slightly blushed at this, but didn't say anything.

Once Jaden was outside he sighed. The sun was now setting and the sky was brilliantly lit up with orange, pink, and purple. It was all over. The long, dangerous task of saving the world with a children's card game...was over. Some big and white then caught his eye. He walked over to a huge banner advertising the dance that was being held on the last day of school.

An image of the small brown teddy bear that he had won at the carnival suddenly popped into his head. _Why did I just see the teddy bear? _Jaden wondered too him self. The teddy bear sighed, and then slowly disappeared, only to be replaced by a picture of Alexis. "GAH!!" Jaden exclaimed as he fell over, he cheeks red. People who passed by looked at his strangely.

"What the heck was that just now?" Jaden looked around; most people were going to dinner. It was amazing how life just went on as normal only about a half hour after the world had momentarily been plunged into darkness. Jaden stood up and began his walk back to the slifer dorm. Syrus, Chumley, and Chazz were eating dinner in the slifer meal hall. Jaden looked at the door for a moment, debating on whether or not he should go in. They were probably celebrating.

Jaden ignored the laughter and climbed up the stairs to the second level and entered his room. He then rolled onto his bed and put his arms under his head as he stared at the bed above him. He then turned and looked over at the desk where a small brown teddy bear sat. Jaden rolled over onto his side.

_The dance is in one week,_ He thought to himself. After several minuets of thinking he stood up. He walked over to the desk and reached out his hand, and after a few more minuets, picked up the bear and looked at it. He took a deep breath. "Well, I might as well do it..." He stared at the bear. "Right now..." Silence, complete and utter silence. "I'm going...right. Now...right. Now." He glared at the bear. "What's your problem, I said I'm going."

XXXXXXX

"I wonder where Jaden is," Syrus wondered. "I'll go look for him." Syrus got up and went outside. He then faintly heard what sounded like Jaden. "Jaden?" Syrus walked up stairs and opened the dorm room, where he saw Jaden standing in the middle of the floor, holding out a teddy bear at arms length.

"Stupid bear, why aren't you going!" He continued to yell at the bear. Syrus quietly closed the door and walked back down to his dinner.

"Where's Jaden?' Chumley asked when he sat back down.

"Jaden needs some alone time." Syrus explained. Chumley and Chazz both raised an eyebrow.

XXXXXXXXX

Jaden walked down the dirt path towards the female blue dorms. Since he couldn't go in, he'd just have to wait as far as he could go until Alexis came out. The brown teddy bear was under his arm. As he got closer, he saw Alexis exiting the blue dorms with Mindy and Jasmine. Jaden quickly hid behind a tree before they saw him. He was close enough to hear their conversation, and was rather intrigued.

"I can't believe you're not going to the dance with anyone," Jasmine said as the three girls walked.

"I know, even Chazz Princeton asked you, I can't believe you said no to all those guys." Alexis sighed.

"Those guys...they're not my type." Mindy and Jasmine looked at each other. They had known Alexis for years, yet they never knew Alexis had a type.

"It's starting to get dark," Alexis said. "Let's go back inside." The three girls began to walk back to dorms.

"Wait!" Jaden called out with out thinking. The three girls looked around. Jaden sighed, he called out, it was now or never. He slowly stepped out from behind the tree, the teddy bear behind his back.

"Jaden?" The three girls asked, surprised. But Alexis' surprised expression quickly turned into a scowl. "Jaden, what are you doing here?" She asked as she crossed her arms.

"Guys aren't allowed at the girls dorms." Mindy told him, also scowling.

"No, it's not like that, I..." He took in a deep breath. "Can I er, talk to Alexis...alone...?" He said, directing his question at Mindy and Jasmine. Alexis raised an eyebrow as her two friends looked at each other.

"What ever you have to say to Alexis you can say to us." Jasmine told him.

"It's ok," Alexis said, partially smiling. I'll meet you guys inside."

"But Alexis," Mindy began. The two girls reluctantly went inside, leaving Jaden and Alexis alone.

"So what's this about Jaden?" Alexis asked.

"I...well, you see," Alexis raised an eyebrow. Jaden was stuttering? Since when did Jaden stutter about anything?

"C'mon Jay, spill it." Jaden closed his eyes and held out the teddy bear at arms length. Alexis blinked.

"Would you... would you like to go to the dance with me?" Jaden blurted out. Alexis stood there in shock, and then smiled as she took the bear. Now it was Jaden's turn to be shocked. He looked up at Alexis as she smiled at him, holding the bear very close to her.

"I'd love to go to the dance with you, Jaden." She said. Jaden blinked.

"Really?" The blonde haired girl nodded. "Ok then..." An awkward silence fell upon them, or at least on Jaden. Alexis didn't seem to mind it too much. "I'll uh, see you tomorrow then." She said as he waved and slowly began to walk away.

XXXXXXXX

Alexis entered her room where Mindy and Jasmine were waiting for her. "Alexis, what did Jaden-" Mindy began her eyes then fell on the bear.

"Where did you get that teddy bear?" Jasmine asked in a suspicious tone. Alexis didn't reply, she only walked past them as she smiled. She set the bear down on her bed as she began to unbutton her blue blazer.

"You didn't!" Mindy exclaimed. "You did not agree to go to the dance with Jaden Yuki." Jasmine gasped.

"Alexis, he's a slifer!"

"A slifer who saved the world from being plunged into darkness for all of eternity." Mindy and Jasmine looked at each other.

"Yah, but still..."

Alexis walked over to the two glass doors that led out to the balcony. She smiled as she saw the small bear in the reflection. For the first time ever, she was actually really looking forward to going to a dance, because this time she had a date that was worth going with.

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Authoress' note: Welp, I have a few things to apologize for.

1. Sorry the chapter was so long, I was hoping it'd be shorter, but oh well.

2. Sorry it took so long to update. Now that it's summer, my room gets really, REALLY hot and it's unbearable to be up there, but on the days that's not 95 degrees up here, I like making music videos now, not incredibly good ones, but music videos non the less, but I'll try to update sooner now that I have an idea of what I want to do in the next chapter (stupid school duel).

Please review, no harsh flames, let's hope it doesn't take me another month to get the next chapter up.


	50. School Duel

Authoress' note: Sorry it took so long to update.

Also, after writting 50 chapters I've finally decided on a new story title. From now on this story is called "Just like you."

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Chapter 50: School Duel.

Zane lay on his bed with his arms tucked behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. The orange light from the setting sun was the only light in his room. He then glanced over at a fish bowl that sat on a table next to his bed. Inside was a small goldfish.

Zane then sat up as he continued to watch the swimming fish.

"What do you think Kuronu?" He asked. There was then a knock on the door. "Come in." Zane replied with out taking his eyes off the fish. When the door opened he glanced back and saw Alexis.

Alexis smiled at him as she walked towards him.

"What are you doing here?" Zane asked.

"I came to see how you were doing," She replied. "With choosing who to duel tomorrow I mean." Zane returned his gaze to the fish.

"I was just asking Kuronu what she thought." Alexis was a bit surprised as she looked around.

"Kuronu's here?" Zane looked at her as Alexis stared back at him. Her eyes then fell onto the small fish. "Oh you didn't." She murmured as she placed her hand on her forehead. "You did NOT name your fish after your girlfriend." _And you're talking it to it?_ _You weirdo._

"Why not?" Zane inquired. "Kuronu gave it to me after all." Alexis gritted her teeth.

"Yah, but you don't name your gold fish after your girlfriend, it's just ...creepy! And so is talking to it like it's your girlfriend. I mean, you don't see Kuronu going around calling that giant stuffed panda you got her Zane!" The blonde exclaimed.

"I guess I see your point," He replied.

_You guess?!_ Alexis thought to herself.

"What should I name her then?" Alexis nearly fell over. The school duel was tomorrow, and all he was thinking about was what to name his fish?! "Maybe... Kaya. Yah, that's a nice name."

Alexis blinked several times. "Wait, isn't Kaya Kuronu's middle name?"

"Yah," Zane replied. Alexis fell over.

_Zane, I never realized what a weird guy you are._ Alexis got up and shook her head. "What about tomorrow? Have you picked anyone to duel? You're running out of time you know."

Zane's eyes suddenly reverted back to their normal seriousness. He then stood up and walked over to his window. "I have an idea." He said with a smirk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kuronu held her arms around her stomach tightly as she nervously watched the duel arena fill up with students. It was the day of the school duel, the day where the top students of each grade picked an opponent to duel in front of the entire school. Obviously Kuronu was not one of the top students, not even close in fact; her test scores were almost suicidal worthy. But just because she wasn't one of the top three students didn't mean that she wasn't dueling.

_FLASH BACK_

Kuronu sat on the floor with Jaden, and Syrus in the slifer dorm as they played go fish with duel monsters. It didn't seem as fun as before now that Chummley was gone, but they knew he was off working hard for Maxamillion Pegasus.

"Got any... Kuribohs?" Jaden asked Kuronu. The brown haired girl shook her head with a smile.

"Nope, go duel." As Jaden went to take his card, the door burst open. Standing in the door frame was Zane and Rose.

"Big brother, what are you doing here?!" Syrus exclaimed.

"Rose, what the heck are you doing here!!???" Kuronu screamed as she stood up and angrily pointed at the red head. "And what are you doing with MY boy friend!?" Rose only smirked.

"Relax, Kaiba. It wasn't as though I was following him. Actually, he was following me." Rose glanced behind her and gave Zane flirtatious wink. Kuronu's face turned red with anger as her eyes had fire in them.

"Go jump in the lake." Kuronu said with a demonic tone to her voice. The two slifer boys slowly scooted away from the girl.

"So, uh...what ARE you guys doing here?" Jaden asked. Zane stepped forward and looked around.

"In all my years here, I've never actually been inside a slifer dorm," He began. "It's... tastefrent." Syrus and Jaden fell over as Kuronu was still burning with rage.

"Is that even a real word?" Syrus asked as he picked himself up.

"Any ways," Zane walked over so he was standing right in front of Jaden. "Jaden, I want to duel you in the school duel." Kuronu quickly forgot about her anger towards Rose and looked at her boy friend, her eyes as big as dinner plates. Syrus looked the same.

"Sweet! I've been wanting a re match with you!" Jaden exclaimed. Zane smirked.

"I expect you're deck to be at its best tomorrow." As he turned around, Rose was blocking his path. Her arms were crossed as she had a smirk on her face.

"What a coincidence." She began. "I had come here to challenge Kuronu to duel me tomorrow." Kuronu's dinner plate sized eyes turned from Zane and were redirected to Rose.

"Wha..."

"See you at the duel arena Kaiba," With that, Rose opened the door, but not before she turned back once more. "Oh yah, you're room is hideous, though I suppose it fits you kiddies quite nicely."

Kuronu quickly extended her arm. "Wait, don't I get a say in-" Rose slammed the door shut. "the matter." Kuronu finished dully. She sighed. Zane chuckled and placed his hand on her shoulder. Kuronu looked up at him; her eyes sparkled as they locked eyes. Zane began to lean forward.

"Excuse me!!!!" Syrus exclaimed as he and Jaden were now back against the wall with mortified expressions. "If you wanna make out, do it outside."

"Yah, not here."

Zane and Kuronu sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow," Zane said to Kuronu in a gentle tone. He then looked at Jaden. "I'll see you in the duel arena," He said with a harsher tone. He then kissed Kuronu on the cheek and exited the dorm.

Kuronu's face lit up pink as her eyes turned into hearts and she put her hand on her cheek. "Wow, my first kiss." She said in a dreamy voice.

"Uh, it was on the cheek, it doesn't count." Syrus said to her. Kuronu whirled around and slapped him across the cheek.

"Hey, I can dream, can't I?! Don't ever go bursting my bubbles like that again!!!!!!!!!!!" The whole red dorm shook as Kuronu screamed at the two.

_END FLASHBACK_

Kuronu sighed as her hand was on her cheek again, the one Zane had kissed. She had vowed never to wash it again, and so far she had kept her word. She was then dragged back down to reality as Crowler announced the start of the second duel. Bastion was the top first year student. First he had chosen Jaden, but after Zane, so was unable. Then Kuronu, but Rose had already picked her. He then decided to just Duel Chazz, who was certainly a worthy opponent.

Bastion had won, but just barely. He only had 100 life points left by the end of the duel. Now it was Kuronu's turn. Kuronu gulped, then turned around and walked down stairs. As she walked through the hall, she saw Rose standing by the entrance to the arena. Kuronu walked over and stood beside her. The both looked at each other.

"Good luck, Kaiba." Rose said with an evil smirk on her face.

"Same to you, Hawthorne." Kuronu replied with a scowl. The two then walked out onto the duel field. The both walked over to their respective places and activated their duel disks.

"Duel!" They both exclaimed.

Kuronu: 8000 life points.

Rose: 8000 life points.

"I'll go first!" Rose exclaimed as she drew her card. She scanned her cards, and then placed a card in defense mode and two cards face down. "Your draw, Kaiba."

Kuronu scowled as she drew her own card. "I summon Luster Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode," The blue dragon rose up into the air and roared loudly. "I attack your face down card!" The dragon opened its mouth and let out a loud roar. Rose smirked.

The face down monster was Skull Dog Marron, which had a defense of 2000. Kuronu flinched a little. "I'll place this card face down and end my turn." She said.

Kuronu: 7900

Rose: 8000

Rose drew her next card and smirked, then placed it face down. "I'll end my turn." She announced. Kuronu frowned.

"Alright then, my draw!" Kuronu drew her next card. "I summon my Mirage Dragon (1600/600) in attack mode!" The dragon took it's placed next to Luster Dragon. "Luster Dragon, attack Rose's face down monster!" The blue dragon roared, revealing Stone Statue of the Aztecs (300/2000)

Rose smirked. "You've activated my monsters effect: It doubles any battle damage your opponent takes when they attack this monster."

8000: 7700

"Fine, then I'll place these two cards face down, and I'll end my turn." Kuronu said.

Rose drew her next turn and smiled. "Alright then, I'll sacrifice my two monsters," Her two monsters exploded as a new monster appeared in their place. "to summon Sword Hunter (2450/ 1700)!"

"I activate my trap card!" Kuronu exclaimed as her card rose up. "A rival appears. It allows me to summon a monster from my hand that has the same level as your monster, and I choose my Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

The black dragon rose up into the air, and then landed next to her other two dragons. (2400/200)

"Fine," Rose said as she drew her hand back. "Then I'll attack your Red Eyes!" She shouted as she thrust her hand towards the black dragon.

"I activate my other trap card!" Kuronu said quickly. "Shadow spell!" The long black chains extended from the card and wrapped around Rose's Sword Hunter. "Now you're monster can't attack, change battle position, and it looses 700 attack points!"

(Sword Hunter: ATK: 1750)

"I end my turn," Rose said quite annoyed.

Rose: 8000 LP

Kuronu: 7700 LP.

Kuronu drew her card. "I activate Pot of Greed," She then drew two cards and smiled. "I sacrifice my Luster Dragon and Mirage Dragon to summon my Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Her second Black Dragon rose to her side of the field and roared. Rose muttered a curse beneath her breath.

"Go, Red Eyes, destroy Sword Hunter!" The dragon opened its mouth as fire ball formed, and then let out a great roar as it fired it towards Rose's monster. Sword Hunter exploded as Rose's life points dropped. "I'll end my turn with that." Kuronu said triumphantly as Rose glared at her.

Rose: 4950

Kuronu: 7700

Rose angrily drew her card. "I activate my face down spell card, Brain Control to take control of your Red Eyes.

4150: 7700

"Now Red Eyes, destroy your brother!" The Red Eyes on Rose's side of the field attacked Kuronu's, destroying both of them.

"And then I'll activate my trap card, Ordeal of a Traveler and end my turn."

"Wow." Syrus said as he watched the duel from above. "Kuronu's sure to beat her this time!"

"Heck yah!" Jaden exclaimed.

Zane smiled as he watched Kuronu duel.

"My draw." Kuronu announced as she looked at her hand. "I'll summon Element Magician."(1500/ 1200) "Then I activate my face down, Ultimate Offering. By paying 500 life points per monster, I can special summon as many as I want."

4150: 7200

"So I'll set this monster face down and end my turn."

Rose drew her own card and gritted her teeth. She looked at her life point gauge. _This is bad._ "I'll set this monster face down in defense position and this card face down, and end my turn.

"Alright." Kuronu drew her card. _This duel is so mine. _"I sacrifice my face down," which was Royal Magical Library. (0/ 2000) "Then I'll summon my Luster Dragon # 2!" The emerald dragon soared up into the air and took its place next to Element Magician. (2400/ 1200)

"Then, I'll attack your face down with Element Magician."

"Hold on, you forgot about my trap card, The Ordeal of a Traveler." Rose called.

"Oh yah," Rose held up her only card. Kuronu narrowed her eyes.

"So, what does that card do again?" Jaden asked.

"When you have Ordeal of a Traveler on your side of the field, whenever your opponent attacks, you select a card, then your opponent has to guess which type of card it is, Monster, Trap, or Spell. If they guess right the attack goes on as normal, but if they guess wrong, the monster you're attacking with goes back to your hand." Bastion explained. Everyone, who had looked at Bastion, looked back at the field.

"Ummmmmmmmm..." Rose sighed.

"Would you just pick already!" She shouted.

"Uh... ok...no, wait..." Kuronu stroked her chin thoughtfully with her thumb and index finger. "Ok, I pick... no, no," Rose groaned.

**5 MINUEST LATER**

"Ok, I've decided," Kuronu announced. "I pick..." A drum roll could be heard from somewhere as Kuronu lifted her right hand as her index finger was pointed at the ceiling; she then lowered her arm so now her finger was pointing at the card. "It is a," The tension in the air was so thick; you could practically cut it with a knife. "Wait, no, I changed my mind." Everyone fell over as they all groaned loudly.

"Would you just bloody decide already!!" Rose was now pulling her hair. "It's one stupid little card, just pick already!!!!!!!!!!" Kuronu winced at her colorful choice of words.

"Ok, ok, sheesh." She sighed. "It's a trap card." Rose stared at her seriously. She then flipped the card around. Kuronu leaned forward. It was, in fact, a trap card. "Yes!" Kuronu jumped into the air and did a little dance. "Oh yah, oh yah,"

"Would you just continue with your turn!!!" Rose screamed. "If this duel goes on too long I won't have any time to do my hair for the dance tonight."

"Ok, ok...so, what monster was I attacking with again?"

Everyone fell over again. "Oh, Kuronu," Alexis said as she had a sweat drop on the side of her head.

"'Oh Kuronu indeed." Said Bastion as he stood up.

"Oh yah, go! Element Magician, attack her face down!" The Magician formed a small bluish sphere that looked as though there it was wind, but at the same time water.

(A/N: For Naruto fans, it kinda looks like the Rasengan)

She then threw the sphere at the face down card, which then flipped face up. The sphere bounced off the monster and flew back and hit Kuronu as her life points dropped.

4950: 6900

"What the-" Kuronu began. She then saw Rose's monster as the red head cackled behind it.

It was Golem Sentry (800/ 1800) Kuronu scowled.

"I knew I should've attacked with Luster Dragon," She muttered. Rose smirked.

"Gee, you think so?"

"Fine, then I destroy it with Luster Dragon!"

Rose then held up her card in her hand as Ordeal of a Traveler activated.

"Oh come on, Rose, I already know what it is. Trap card." Luster dragon formed and Emerald ball in its mouth, then shot it out at and destroyed Golem Sentry. "I'll end my turn now."

Rose drew her card. "I'll place this card in face down defense position and this card face down, and end my turn." She said.

"It looks like Rose has a pretty bad hand." Chazz commented.

"Boy, I'll say. Looks like Kuronu will have an easy win." Jaden said as he smiled.

"Don't count your duel monsters before they're summoned," Said a voice from behind them. As it spoke, 5 tall shadows were cast over everyone. Everyone gulped. It felt as though the entire area had been cast into shadows. They all slowly turned around.

Kuronu drew her card. "I won't make the same mistake twice." She said. "Luster Dragon, destroy her face down."

The emerald dragon fired its green flames at the monster - and because Rose had no cards in her hand, Ordeal of a Traveler wasn't activated - and destroyed it. (Moai Interceptor Cannons / ATK: 1100 DEF: 2000)

"Element Magician, attack her directly!" Rose screamed as the blue sphere hit her in the chest. She panted as her life points dropped.

Rose: 3450

Kuronu: 6900

Then, out of all the shouts and screams of everyone in the room, two voices stood out.

"WOOOOOO- HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" They called in perfect unison. "Go baby sister, yah baby sister, uh- huh, woot! woot!" Everyone looked and saw Haru and Hiro Kaiba doing some sort of retarded dance as Syrus scooted away from them. Mokuba stood behind them and laughed, Meisha was forcing her self to laugh, and Seto had covered his eyes as he stood next to Zane, who also very embarrassed to be associated with the two.

Kuronu's eyes became as dinner plates. All the girls in the room began to scream as they called the twins names.

"I love you guys!!!" Rose shouted as she waved to them. Kuronu's left eyebrow was now twitching rather violently. The twins had created their dance of retardedness and were now waving at the many fan girls with sparkly, narrow eyes.

"Can we please continue with the duel!?" Kuronu screamed, but wasn't heard over the loud fan girl screams. Dr. Crowler then got up on the platform with his microphone.

"Everyone please, calm down. Return to your seats, I'm sure the twins will be here for a while, there will be plenty of time to do what ever it is that you want to do with them later, but please return your attention to the duel." All the girls who had begun running towards their beloveds reluctantly returned to their seats.

"Now where were we?" Kuronu asked.

Rose swiftly drew her card and frowned. "I end my turn." She said as she had put nothing on the field. Kuronu blinked. No monster, no trap? Well, according to her calculations, she would win this turn.

"Ok then," She said as she then drew her card. She smirked.

So, what are you guys doing here?" Syrus asked as he was still several feet away from the twins.

"We came to see Kuronu's duel." They replied.

"Kaiba bros!!" They then heard a familiar voice call. They turned and saw Atticus.

"Atticus!!!!" They screamed as they ran towards each other in slow motion with their arms spread out.

Several girls then screamed loudly, causing the whole school to turn back to them.

Kuronu's eyes were once again twitching as all the girls squealed. The three men finally embraced each other, in slow motion of course, as the room erupted into fan girl screams.

Alexis nearly fainted. Her brother had now officially joined the Kaiba brothers in the ultimate icon gayness. It took almost 10 minuets to calm everyone down this time as the fan girls discussed 'how beautiful they were together.' Kuronu had nearly thrown up five times.

"Zane, why didn't you join us in our hug?" Atticus asked as the three returned their arms around each other. Zane's face was dark as his bangs covered his eyes.

"I think he fainted." Jaden commented as he looked at the obelisk.

"I think he died." Chazz said. "And right now, I really want to join him."

"Should we give him CPR?" Hiro asked. Zane suddenly jumped several feet backwards, nearly giving everyone a heart attack.

"No!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide and fearful and was twitching.

"I was only kidding." Hiro told him with a smiled.

Kuronu covered her eyes. How she was related to half her family she had no idea. "Um, I think it's my turn," She said.

"Aren't they all so amazing," Rose said in a dreamy voice as she had hearts in her eyes. "Haru and Hiro Kaiba, along with Atticus Rhodes and Zane Truesdale makes them ultimate group of complete and total hotness!" She exclaimed. Kuronu cleared her throat very loudly. "Oh yah, your turn."

"Ok, I attack you directly with Element Magician!"

"Oh Kuronu," Rose said in a sing song tone. She then held up the card in her hand. Kuronu smirked. _She has to call it wrong. If she doesn't, it's all over._

"Trap," Kuronu said. Rose giggled, and then shook her head no. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!!!??" Kuronu exclaimed as Element Magician returned to her hand. She narrowed her eyes. "Fine, Luster Dragon, attack!" Ordeal of a Traveler activated again. "Spell card!" Again, Rose shook her head no. Kuronu gritted her teeth as Luster Dragon returned to her hand as well.

"I end my turn," She said as Rose was now smiling.

_That was way to close. _Rose thought to herself as she drew her card. "Alright, I summon Muka Muka! (600/ 300) and its effect increases its ATK and DEF points by 300 points for every card in my hand." (ATK: 900 DEF: 600)

"Now I'll attack you directly!" The bug flew at Kuronu and cut her, then flew back to Rose. "Then I'll put one card face down and end my turn."

Rose: 3450

Kuronu: 6000

"Ok, I summon my Element Magician."

"I activate my trap card, Compulsory Evacuation device, which sends one card back to the owner's hand, and I choose your Element Magician." Kuronu gritted her teeth as once again, her magician was returned to her hand.

"I end my turn," Rose smirked as she drew her card.

_Time to turn this duel around. _"I sacrifice my Muka Muka to summon Hieracosphinx!" (2400/ 1200) "And now, I'll attack you directly!" Kuronu screamed as the monster attacked her, reducing her life points by a significant amount. "I'll end my turn with that."

Rose: 3450

Kuronu: 3600

Kuronu drew her card and scanner her hand. "I place this card face down in defense mode and this card face down, and end my turn."

"What happened?" Syrus asked as he watched the duel.

"She got careless." Seto said as he stood with his arms crossed, his usual scowl plastered upon his face.

"My draw!" Rose drew her card. "I activate Heavy Storm to destroy your face down!" A huge wind came up as Kuronu's face down card shattered. "Then I destroy your face down with Hieracosphinx!" The monster destroyed Kuronu's monster, revealing it to be Magician of Faith.

"You've activated my monsters effect. When Magician of Faith is flip summoned or destroyed, I can return one spell card from my grave yard to my hand. And I choose Monster Reborn!"

"Hang on!" Rose exclaimed. "When did that go to the grave yard?"

"Remember that face down card you just destroyed a few moments ago?" Rose gritted her teeth as Kuronu was smirking.

"Yes!" Haru, Hiro, Atticus, Jaden, and Syrus all said together as they punched the air with their fists.

Kuronu drew her card. "I'll place two cards face down and end my turn."

Rose smirked. "I summon Guardian Statue in face up attack mode, (800/ 1400) then I attack you directly with both my monsters!"

"Hold on," Kuronu said, "I activate Mirror Force!" The trap flipped up as both of Rose's monsters exploded.

"I'll place this card face down and end my turn." The red head said.

_Things are looking up, _Kuronu smirked. "I activate Monster Reborn and my face down Call of the Haunted, to bring back my two red eyes!" she closed her eyes. A knot formed in her stomach as her two black dragons returned to the field. A feeling rushed through, one that she only felt when dueling a truly strong opponent. She re opened her eyes. "And now I activate Polymerization to fuse together my two Red Eyes on the field and the one in my hand to form,"

A dark aura appeared behind Kuronu. "The Red Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" The huge, three headed Dragon let out an enormous roar as he it stretched out its wings. (4000/ 3500) Rose stepped back as her eyes were wide. She remembered her last encounter with it.

_FLASH BACK_

_All three heads thundered at Rose who made her step back a ways at the sheer sight of them._

"_W- what the heck is that thing!?" Rose stuttered._

"_My best card. And I'm the only one in the world who has one." Kuronu said smirking. A spell card then revealed it's self on the field. "I now play heavy storm!" _

_A huge wind swept over the field as all spell and trap cards where destroyed. _

"_Now, I play axe of despair on my dragon!" Kuronu said as she held out a card. _

_The dragons roared as they glowed red with power. (ATK: 5000) _

"_F- five thousand attack points?!" Rose said shocked_

"_Red eyes, obliterate that exodia wanna be!"Kuronu said pointing at Exxod. _

_At this balls of fire formed in all the mouths. They then shot them off in a huge roar. The balls of fire slammed into Exxod as the monster turned into stone and then crumbled away. _

"_You'll pay for that!" Rose screamed at her._

_END FLASHBACK_

She narrowed her eyes.

Mokuba whistled as he was leaning against the railing beside his nephews. "Would you check out that dragon." His eyes then closed and arched up as he smiled. "Aw, she's like a tiny you, Seto." He then re opened his eyes with a slightly evil glint to them. "Only she's way cuter." Seto rolled his eyes as Meisha went over to Mokuba.

"Oh you're right, how adorable."

"Go, my ultimate beast, attack Rose and wipe out her life points!" The black dragon roared as in each of its three mouths it formed a giant fire ball. Then they roared again is threw them at her. The balls of fire seemed to hit dead on as the area filled with smoke. Kuronu had to shield her eyes.

When the smoke began to fade away Kuronu looked towards where Rose was. The room was filled with whispers.

"Is it over?" Syrus asked.

"I wouldn't be to sure," Zane said as he stood behind his younger brother, his arms crossed.

The smoke cleared and Rose could now be seen, standing with one hand on her hip, smirking, and completely untouched. A trap card was face up in front of her.

"Waboku?!" Kuronu exclaimed. Rose laughed.

"What, thought it'd be over that quickly? Come now Miss Kaiba, haven't you learned by now not to under estimate me? I mean I've been kind enough to you to at least_ TRY_ to take to you seriously." Kuronu glared at her.

"I'll place two cards face down and end my turn." She said quietly.

"Told ya," Zane said. Syrus almost fell over.

Rose drew her card and smirked like she had never smirked before. "I remove from play Hieracosphinx, Stone Statue of the Aztecs, Moai Interceptor Cannons, Golem Sentry, Muka Muka, and Guardian Statue in order to summon Megarock Dragon!

(Megarock Dragon / ATK: 4200 DEF: 4200 (Effect: This card cannot be normal summoned or set. This card cannot be special summoned except by removing from play a Rock- type monster(s) in your graveyard. The original ATK and DEF of this card become the number of Rock- type monsters you removed from play when you special summon this card X 700.)

Kuronu stood there, her eyes wide as she looked at the monster. It was a big as Red Eyes Ultimate Dragon and as fierce as it to. Its body was covered with rocky scales as its eyes glowed a deathly red. It opened its mouth to show its fierce teeth as its roar thundered through the duel arena.

"Go, Megarock Dragon, destroy her pathetic Red Eyes!" Red Eyes shattered as Rose's monster destroyed it.

Rose: 3450

Kuronu: 3400

"I activate Rope of Life!" Kuronu called. "By sending my hand to the grave yard I can return one monster destroyed from battle this turn to my side of the field with 800 extra attack points!" Red Eyes Ultimate Dragon appeared on the field and roared. (ATK: 4800)

Rose gritted her teeth. "I end my turn."

Haru, Hiro, and Atticus clenched their fists and put both arms in front of them as they smiled, ready to begin their dance. "Oh-" they began, when Seto grabbed one of Haru and Hiro's ears.

"DON'T even think about it." He said as they cringed with pain and Atticus scooted away.

"I activate Axe of despair on Red Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" (ATK: 5800) Rose stepped back, her eyes were wide. But Kuronu wasn't done. She had to make sure she finished it now, or Rose might make another come back. Then I activate," The red head gulped. She looked at the cards in her hand, hoping for something to stop what ever Kuronu had planned. "Fissure." Kuronu said slowly. Rose blinked.

"Fissure destroys the monster with the lowest attack on your side of the field, but since you only have one monster," A large crack shot across the room under Megarock Dragon. Then the room began to shake as the crack turned in a deep pit. Megarock Dragon shattered as it fell into the chasm.

"Well, now that that's out of the way." She closed her eyes for a moment, and then slowly opened them. Her blue eyes were shinning as she smirked. "Red Eyes," She said rather quietly. Everyone seemed to be leaning forward. Kuronu then thrust her hand towards Rose. "Attack Rose's life points directly!" The red eyes soared up into the air, spreading out its large, black, leathery wings. A giant fireball formed in each of its mouths, then shot them all towards Rose.

A cloud of smoke surrounded the area as the fire impacted. Finally the smoke cleared as Rose's life points dropped to zero.

Kuronu: 3400

Rose: 0

Rose fell to her knees as the crowd applauded. Kuronu smiled as she looked around. Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, Chazz, Alexis, and of course Zane were standing at the top. A short ways away from them was her mom and dad, uncle Mokuba, Haru, Hiro, and Atticus. Kuronu then walked over to Rose and extended her hand.

Rose looked at it. "That was a really great duel," Kuronu said to her as she smiled. Rose closed her eyes as she smirked.

"It would seem that I can't win at anything against you, can I?" She looked up and clasped her hand around Kuronu's as she stood up. She then began to walk away, but then stopped and looked back. "You best start getting ready for tonight. Just because you beat me in this duel doesn't mean I'm laying off of Zane." Kuronu blinked as Crowler came up next her.

"It is now my pleasure to announce the most anticipated duel of the year!" The crowd cheered louder than ever at this. Kuronu hopped down from the stage and quickly ran out of the room. As she ran down the hall back to the top floor, she saw Jaden and Zane.

Kuronu smiled as she ran over. She jumped up and tightly wrapped her arms around Zane's neck as he wrapped his arms around her back. "You were amazing," He told her. She blushed as she moved her hands back so they were just resting on his shoulders as he was still holding her.

"No where near as amazing as you two will be," She then smiled at Jaden, who smiled back awkwardly. He hated when they acted really boyfriend/ girlfriendish, especially in front of him. Kind of made him feel like a third wheel. "Good luck," She said as she gazed into Zane's greenish- gray eyes. She then leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Then ran back up the steps.

"Let me guess, you're never going to wash your forehead again, are you?" Jaden asked. Zane looked at him weirdly.

Kuronu got up just in time to see a large cloud of smoke explode by the entrance. Zane and Jaden exited and walked over to their appropriate places. As Kuronu walked, her hand along the railing, she looked in front of her and saw her family waiting for her.

"Mom!" She exclaimed as she ran over and hugged her mother. "I can't believe you guys came," She said.

"Oh please, I wouldn't miss this day for anything else in the world."

"You didn't come when we graduated from tenth grade," Hiro said as he and his twin has their arms crossed with annoyed looks on their faces. There was an awkward silence.

"Uh, hey the duel is starting," Mokubah said as he pointed down to the arena. Kuronu looked down. They had activated their duel disks as Zane went first.

"Hey, Kuronu!" Someone called out. Kuronu looked over and saw Syrus, Alexis, Chazz, and Bastion running over. Well, Chazz was just walking. "Kuronu, that was a great duel," Syrus told her. Kuronu smiled.

"Thanks Syrus,"

"Who do think is going to win?" Alexis asked as she leaned against the railing. Everyone looked at her.

"Obviously Zany- pie will win," Haru said in a matter of fact tone. Hiro nodded in agreement. Everyone stared at him.

"Z- Zany- pie?" Kuronu asked as her eye brow twitched. The fact that her brother called her boy friend 'Zany- pie' disturbed her very much.

"Bastion," Syrus hissed. Bastion leaned down so Syrus could whisper into his ear. "I think Kuronu's brothers...are _gay._" Bastion couldn't help but snicker at this.

"Hey, where'd Atti go?" Hiro asked as he looked around. Alexis also looked around.

"He was with you guys, right?" She asked.

"I can't believe he wants to Miss Zany-" Haru began, but was interrupted.

"Don't call him that!" Kuronu exclaimed.

"Oh yah, sorry that's your name for him." Haru and Hiro laughed at this as Kuronu blushed.

"I'm... gonna go get a cappuccino," Seto said as he walked away. He had a headache, an awful one.

"Come on bro," Haru said as he tilted his head away. "Let's go find Atticus."

The twins walked down the halls in search for their friend. Finally they ventured out side. "Where do you think he went?" Hiro asked.

"We checked all the bath rooms, right?" Hiro nodded. "Hm..."

Hiro scanned the area as the wind blew. His eyes then landed on something by the light house. "Is that him?" Hiro asked, brushing his longs bangs out of his eyes for a better look. Haru took off his fiery red glasses, breathed onto the lenses, then wiped them off with his shirt, placed them back on his face and looked at the light house.

"Yah," He said. "I think that is him. What's he doing all the way over there?" Hiro shrugged as the two ran off towards him.

They quietly approached their friend, who was gazing out into the ocean which sparkled beneath the sun.

"Hey," Haru said as he walked closer. Atticus looked towards them. "You're missing Zane's duel," He said. Atticus returned his gaze to the ocean.

"You ok, dude?" Hiro asked.

"Yah, I just needed some fresh air." Atticus took in a deep breath, then turned and faced them with a smile. "Shall we go back?" Haru and Hiro looked at each other and both raised an eyebrow. Atticus began to walk between them as they each put a hand on either of his shoulders.

"Look," Hiro began. "Of it's about Mallory-" Atticus blinked for a moment, a slightly surprised expression on his face, but it quickly became downcast as he looked away.

"Mal's way to strong to commit suicide over something so trivial as a broken heart, she probably just needed to go off on a journey to 'find herself.'" Haru reassured him, though it didn't help much.

"Whatever she's done, it's my fault," Atticus whispered. The twins sighed.

"Is not," They said in unison as they both grabbed an arm and dragged him back to the academy.

"H- hey, where we going?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe you guys didn't drag me back faster!" Atticus explained as he, Haru, and Hiro ran through the halls. "We're missing Zane's duel!"

"'Cause of you!" Haru and Hiro said in perfect unison. Atticus shrugged as he ran.

As they ran, something caught Hiro's eye. He suddenly stopped, causing Haru and Atticus to fly forwards.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Haru asked as he was lying on the ground next to Atticus in an uncomfortable looking position.

"Isn't that," Hiro then pointed to a girl with long, dirty blonde hair. She was looking down the hall that was to her left, then turned her head and looked down the hallway to her right. As she turned her head, the three boys could see that she had purplish blue eyes and brown skin.

"Kianna?" Haru asked as he and Atticus stood up. The girl turned around having heard her name and looked at them. Haru and Hiro blinked as they stared at the girl as she did the same. Atticus was looking back and forth between the three.

"How do you," He began as he raised an eyebrow.

"Hey guys!" The girl exclaimed as she waved and smiled.

"Cousin Kianna!" The twins said.

"Cousin Kianna?" Atticus inquired. "Wait a minuet, isn't she that Egyptian pop star?!"

"The one and only," She replied as she flipped her hair with a smirk.

"She's your cousin?" Atticus was now completely bewildered.

"Well, actually she's dad's second cousin so we're still trying to figure out what she is to us." Atticus blinked.

"Your dad's second cousin?"

"You know Marik Ishtar?" Hiro asked. Atticus nodded. "Well, Dad's step cousin married him and this is their kid."

Kianna's narrow purple- blue eyes looked Atticus up and down. She had on a black mini skirt and a sleeveless navy hoodie. Her skin was slightly brown as her dirty blonde hair laid against her shoulders. A gold coated choker around her neck, two thick gold bracelets on her wrists, gold earrings, and two locks of her hair on either side were kept together with gold bands like Ishizu's.

"So who's your friend?" She asked as she put her right hand on her hip.

"Our buddy Atticus!" The twins exclaimed as they put their arms around him. "So what are you doing here?" Haru asked.

"I've been hired to sing a few songs tonight at some prom or something," She exclaimed.

"Are your parents here?" Hiro asked. "'Cause you know how happy dad will be to see them," He teased.

"No, they're not here." The pop star replied.

"Ahhhhh, I like...whatever type of relative he is to me Marik." Hiro whined.

Haru laughed. "I can just see dad when he finds out they're not here," Haru's eyes became narrow and cold as he scowled. "Hm, pitty," He mimicked, not sounding pitying at all. Hiro and Atticus snickered. Kianna rolled her eyes.

"Well, as nice as it is to see you again, I don't have time to waste with you. I need to find the Chancellor so I can start preparing g for tonight." She turned around and then pulled out a map that seemed to be of the campus. "This is so ridiculous," She muttered. "Someone as important as me shouldn't just be handed a stupid map and be expected to wonder around this damn place to find the person who called me here." She continued to mutter things as Haru, Hiro, and Atticus leaned closer to hear what she was saying.

"I mean, the least he could do is welcome at the dock that jerk." The three leaned back as they could now fairly figure out what was going. They looked at each other, knowing that they were all thinking the same thing.

"You know," Haru began, addressing the pop star. Kianna glanced back at them. "We could show you where the Chancellor is."

"We know this place like the back of our hands," Hiro told her. Atticus nodded. Kianna narrowed her eyes. She may be famous, but she wasn't an idiot. The smiles on their faces indicated there was a catch.

"What's the catch?" She asked. Their smiles became wider, until suddenly they flung themselves at her feet and were on their knees with their hands folded and their eyes very sparkly.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaseeee let us sing with you!!!" They begged.

"What?!" She exclaimed as she stepped back.

"That's what you're here to do, right?" Atticus asked.

"I mean, why else would a pop star come to a school on the night of the prom." Haru reasoned.

"So pelase let us sing with you!" Hiro begged.

Kianna jumped back several feet. "No way!!!" She shouted.

"Then I guess you'll just stay lost." Atticus told her as they stood up. They began to walk away when Kianna called them back. They looked back at her as she pondered things.

"Fine, you can sing," She muttered.

"What was that?" Haru asked as he put his hand to his ear and his ear became huge.

"We couldn't hear you." Hiro said.

"You can sing with me," Kianna said slightly louder.

"Too soft, can't hear," Atticus told her. Kianna clenched her fists as an anger mark appeared on her forehead.

"I SAID YOU CAN SING WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted, blowing the three back. They all gave her a thumbs up as they were in a pile. She sighed.

Haru, Hiro, and Atticus ran back to the duel arena and saw Jaden and Zane shaking hands.

"Aw man, we missed it," Hiro whined.

"Well that's what happens when you run away," Alexis said to them.

'Who won?" Atticus inquired.

"Both." Kuronu said as her eyes were sparkly. "Though personally I feel that Zane was just a bit cooler." She exclaimed. Everyone sighed.

"Ok, where's the chancellor?" Kianna asked as she came up behind them. Everyone turned around and stared at her for a moment.

"K- Kianna???!!!!" Seto, Meisha, Mokuba, and Kuronu exclaimed.

"Why are you here?" Alexis asked.

"Are your parents here?" Seto looked around.

"I'm here because your very rude chancellor called me here, and now, mom and dad aren't here." Said seemed to relax a bit.

"Hm, pity." He said. Haru, Hiro, and Atticus chuckled.

"Jaden!" Syrus suddenly exlaimed as he and Zane approached them. Kuronu ran past him and tightly hugged Zane. Kianna raised an eyebrow at this.

"Zane!!!" Haru and Hiro exclaimed as they also went to hug Zane.

"Stay away from me," He told them as he extended his hand.

"I'm still confused, how did you both win?" Atticus asked.

"Well if you had been here, you would've known," Alexis told him as she looked at him sternly. He shrugged.

"They tied," Mokuba told him. "It was really quite amazing, best duel I've ever seen."

"Gee, thanks for rubbing it in," said Haru as he and his brother glared at their uncle.

"Excuse me," Kianna exclaimed. "I though you were taking me to the chancellor," She said with her arms crossed.

"Oh yah," Haru began as he looked around. "There he is," He pointed down to the arena as he held a microphone.

"Each of you has really outdone yourselves. Rose, Bastion, Zane, you have truly proved why you're the best, as Did Kuronu, Chazz, and Jaden. Now everyone had best get ready for tonight." The room broke out into cheers as everyone was excited for the dance. "And gracing us with her presence tonight will be Kianna," Everyone turned to see Kianna as she smirked with her arms crossed.

"You're singing tonight?" Kuronu exclaimed. She closed her eyes and flipped her hair.

"Who else?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authoress' note: Ok, I'll end it there. I'm sooooooooooooooo sorry that it took so incredibly long, I just didn't really have anything to look forward to in this chapter, and the past month has just been kinda unreal, so many things have happened, and not necessarily good things, though some good things. I'll try to update as quickly as possible, I am way excited about the next chapter. Please review, and no harsh flames.


	51. The Prom

Authoress' note: Alright, thanks guys so much for reviewing. Now onto the new chapter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaden took in a deep breath as he put his hands in his pockets. His heart was pounding. He watched as people walked past him up the plank to the big cruise ship that was covered in balloons and streamers. He was wearing a black suite and a white shirt with a red tie.

For some reason, he was terrified tonight. Earlier that day he had been fine, it hadn't been until Alexis said 'See you tonight' that he started feeling this way. He looked around; so far he hadn't seen anyone that he knew particularly well. Then he saw her:

Her blonde hair pulled up into some fancy twist as she had on a pale blue dress with spaghetti strap sleeves and a silver diamond necklace with matching silver diamond earrings and diamond bracelet. Her left arm was down by her side as her right hand was playing with her necklace as she looked around. Then she saw him and smiled, her white teeth practically glowing as she gracefully walked towards him.

Jaden's heart began to beat faster. He felt his hand adjusting his tie, making sure it was straight. He could see now that she was wearing blue spike shoes. She was now in front of him. He couldn't find his voice, he opened his mouth, but no words came out. He could tell she was waiting for him to say something. He gulped.

"You look really amazing, Alexis," He finally said. He hoped he didn't sound like he was forcing himself to say it, that he didn't really mean it, because he did mean it. She truly did look amazing. Her smile widened.

"You look really great as well," Alexis replied. In her hand she held a box that contained the corsage she had bought for him, red roses and tiny blue and white flowers around it. Jaden pulled out a similar box, a corsage for Alexis, exactly the same. Jaden pulled out the item and gently placed it on her wrist, and then she placed his on his suite. She then put her arm around his as he escorted her to the ship.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom," Kuronu groaned. Zane smiled at her as he had his hand around her waist. Kuronu sighed as she smiled and her mother took ANOTHER picture. "There, I think you have enough pictures, can we go now?"

"My baby looks so beautiful," Meisha sniffed. "And Zane, you look so handsome." Kuronu sighed.

She was wearing a tube top dress with a slit that started at her hip with light blue sparkly showing underneath. Her hair was pulled back in a clip as the white gold choker with the sapphire gem in it that Zane gave her was around her neck. She had on white high heeled strappy shoes. Around her wrist was a corsage with white roses and tiny blue flowers around it.

Zane was wearing a dark blue suite with a white shirt and a blue and silver tie. On his suite jacket was a corsage that matched Kuronu's; white roses with tiny blue flowers.

"You guys aren't coming, are you?" Kuronu asked with a forced smile.

"You bet we are!" Her brothers exclaimed as they suddenly appeared behind her, nearly giving her a heart attack in the process. Haru was wearing a black suite with a white shirt and a red tie while Hiro was wearing a white suite with a black shirt and light blue tie.

"I'll be right over, I need to get ready," Meisha said as she ran back into the dorm. They had been taking pictures by a bench with a perfect few of the ocean right close to the girl's blue dorm.

"We should head over," Zane said. Kuronu nodded as she put her arm around his and they walked down the path to the ship. Haru and Hiro began to follow. "Why don't you guys wait here for your mom," Zane suggested. The twins looked at each other.

"Fine," Haru said as he crossed his arms.

"We can tell when we're not wanted," Hiro said, mimicking his brother. Kuronu and Zane both smiled.

"About time," Kuronu teased.

They soon got to the ship as they looked it over. "There's Jaden and Alexis," Kuronu exclaimed as she saw them up on the cruise ship. "They look so cute together," She then ran up to greet them as she still held onto Zane's arm.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't care if Jaden asked Alexis, the Chazz will dance with her tonight," Chazz said aloud to himself as he walked to the ship. He stopped at the top of a hill where he could see it. Lights where hung all over it as were balloons and streamers. He adjusted his tie, and then put a few mints in his mouth. He then began to walk down, thinking about how he would ask Alexis to dance with him. Why she had agreed to go with Jaden as a date, he would never understand.

"I mean who would want to go with that slifer slacker anyways?" He was a few feet from where the crowd was. A few other slifers passed him, talking about how they couldn't get dates. The majority of guys with dates were obelisks, with a few ra yellows. He then saw Kuronu dragging Zane by the arm onto the ship; he then saw that she was running over to Jaden and Alexis.

Alexis looked beautiful in her dress, he thought.

"Day dreaming about your princess?" A voice said behind him. He turned around and saw Kianna there. She had on a long sparkly silver sleeveless dress that was open in the shape of a V in the front and a sparkly light purple piece of fabric covering her chest. Her right hand was on her hip as her eyes were narrow and smirk on her face.

"That's none of your business," He replied turning away from her.

"You know," She said as she put her hands on his shoulders and peered over. "You have a good voice, have you ever considered singing?" She asked.

"Sorry, I don't sing," He then walked away from her and onto the ship. Kianna smirked.

"If you say so," She said as she closed her eyes and flipped her hair.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zane and Kuronu, and Jaden and Alexis walked into the great hall. Round tables were set up along the wall on either side as strings of lights were strung across the ceiling. There was a silver disco ball on the ceiling that wasn't turned on. There was a small stage in the front with some speakers and microphones set up and a ball that shone different colors, causing part of the room to be red, another part green, part of the ceiling blue and so on and so forth. Most of the school was already there, sitting at tables or getting drinks by the drink bar or just standing in the middle of the floor talking.

"This going to be so much fun," Kuronu said as she looked around. A little while later Syrus joined them as he was wearing a nice black suite identical to Jaden's. When he saw Jaden and Alexis together he nudged Jaden's arm and gave him an evil look.

After everyone was in the great hall, Chancellor Sheppard appeared on the stage. "Welcome everyone to the annual prom; I know we're going to have a lot of fun tonight, so I'd like to welcome, Kianna!" Everyone cheered and screamed and clapped as Kianna walked onto the stage as the chancellor stepped down.

"Hello duel academy!" She exclaimed, causing the crowd to cheer louder. "Unfortunately the band will not be playing tonight so we'll just be playing the CDS,"

"Ah, I was hoping to see Drake again," Mindy said quietly.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's rock this boat!" Everyone cheered as the music began to play.

**"I still hear your voice, when you sleep next to me.  
I still feel your touch in my dreams.  
Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why  
Without you it's hard to survive.**

"'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side."

Everyone started to dance as the music became faster and more danceable. Kuronu saw that Zane wasn't dancing and went over to him. **  
**

**"'Cause every time we touch, I feel this static.  
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky."**

She took his hands in hers as her right hand pulled his towards her and her left hand pushed his back, then vise- versa several times. Zane then spun her around as she then put her arms in the air and he began to dance around her.**  
**

**"Can't you hear my heart beat so...  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life."**

Everyone slowed down as the music did and just kind of swayed to the music. ****

"Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky."

Zane wrapped his arms around Kuronu and held her close. **  
**

**They wipe away tears that I cry.  
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.  
You make me rise when I fall."  
**

Once again everyone started to dance again as Kianna sang.**  
**

**"'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.  
'Cause every time we touch, I feel this static.  
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky.  
Can't you hear my heart beat so...  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life.**

'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly.  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side. "

Everyone clapped and cheered as the song ended people stopped dancing. Kianna sang several other fast songs. Then when the last one ended, and slow song began to play. Zane took Kuronu's right hand in his and put her left hand on his left shoulder as he put his left hand on her hip. Jaden and Alexis did the same.

**"How did I get here, I turned around  
And there you were  
I didn't think twice or rationalize  
Cause somehow I knew,"**

"Hey Syrus," Mindy whispered as she came over to where he was standing. "Would you like to dance?"

"Uh, sure," They walked out to the floor. It was rather awkward since he only came up to about her chest, but Syrus couldn't deny the happiness he felt in the fact that someone had asked him.**  
**

**"That there was more than just chemistry  
I mean I knew you were kind of into me  
But I figured it's too  
Good to be true**

I said pinch me where's the catch this time  
Can't find a single cloud in the sky  
Help me before I get used to this guy

They say that good things take time  
But really great things happen in the blink of an eye  
Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one  
I can not believe it, (whoa oh)  
You're one in a million

All this time I was looking for love  
Trying to make things work  
They weren't good enough  
Till I thought I'm through  
Said I'm done  
Then stumbled into the arms of the one

You're making me laugh about the silliest stuff  
Say that I'm your diamond in the rough  
When I'm mad at you  
You come with your velvet touch  
Can't believe that I'm so lucky  
I have never felt so happy  
Every time I see that sparkle in your eyes

They say that good things take time (whooooo)  
But really great things happen in the blink of an eye  
Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one  
I can not believe it, (oh whoa)  
You're one in a million, (yea yea)

All this time I was looking for love  
Trying to make things work  
They weren't good enough  
Till I thought I'm through  
Said I'm done  
Then stumbled into the arms of the one

I said pinch me  
Where's the catch this time  
Can't find a single cloud in the sky  
Help me before I get used to this guy

They say that good things take time  
But really great things happen in a blink of an eye  
Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one  
I can not believe it  
(Oh oh whoa yea yea)

They say that good things take time  
But really great things happen in the blink of an eye  
Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one  
I can not believe it (oh, oh)

You're one in a million

Yeah

One in a million

Yeah

You're one in a million

oooooh aaaaah  
oooooh aaaaah

oooooh aaaaah  
oooooh aaaaah "

Alexis and Jaden broke apart. They smiled. Alexis brushed a lock of her hair out of her face as she slightly blushed and opened her mouth to speak.

"And now," Kianna said, though she seemed much less enthusiastic this time. She actually looked annoyed. "There will be one more live song," She sighed. "Enjoy." She walked off the stage as people murmured and the lights went out.

Then three spotlights pointed down to the stage, one blue, one red, and one green. Three figures could then be seen with their backs toward the crowd.

"Is that," Kuronu began as she pointed her index finger.

"No," Alexis murmured. The two looked at each other, then at the stage, and then slapped their foreheads as the music began to play.

**"Yo listen up here's a story  
about a little guy that lives in a blue world,"**

**  
"and all day and all night and everything he sees  
is just blue like him inside and outside,"**

**  
"blue his house with a blue little window  
and a blue corvette,"**

**  
"and everything is blue for him and hisself  
and everybody around,"  
**

**"cos he ain't got nobody to listen to,"**

The three figures turned around.

"My brother(s)." Kuronu and Alexis groaned as they began to sing in unison and do a really, really, REALLY weird dance.****

i'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

Slowly, people began to dance. ****

i have a blue house with a blue window.  
Blue is the colour of all that I wear.  
Blue are the streets and all the trees are blue.  
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue.  
Blue are the people here that walk around,  
blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.  
Blue are the words I say and what I think.  
Blue are the feelings that live inside me.

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

I have a blue house with a blue window.  
Blue is the colour of all that I wear.  
Blue are the streets and all the trees are blue.  
I have a girlfriend and she is so blue.  
Blue are the people here that walk around,  
blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.  
Blue are the words I say and what I think.  
Blue are the feelings that live inside me.

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

inside and outside blue his house  
with the blue little window and blue corvette  
and everything is blue for him and hisself  
and everybody around cause he aint got  
nobody to listen to

i'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

I'm blue (if I was green I would die) 

Everyone cheered. "We love you Atticus!" Girls screamed. "Haru, Hiro!!!!"

The threesome pushed their way through the crowd to the back were Kuronu, Zane, Jaden, Alexis, and Syrus were standing.

"Zane, you should've danced with us," Hiro said as he put his arm around him.

"No way," He replied.

"Weren't we great, sissy?" Atticus asked. Alexis sighed.

"Well, you were certainly different."

Suddenly music began to play again, only this time from an IPod.

**Everybody was kung-fu fighting  
Those cats were fast as lightning  
In fact it was a little bit frightening  
But they fought with expert timing**

"Hey dad!" Haru suddenly exclaimed. Everyone looked over and saw Mokuba, Seto and Meisha coming towards them. "Did you see our dance?" He asked.

**They were funky China men from funky Chinatown  
They were chopping them up and they were chopping them down  
It's an ancient Chinese art and everybody knew their part  
From a feint into a slip, and kicking from the hip**

"Thank God, no," Seto replied.

"Are you guys having fun?" Meisha asked. Kuronu stepped back as she saw the camera in her mother's hands.

"Yes, mom, we are having a splendid," She grabbed Zane's hand. "Let's go dance over there!"

She quickly ran off, dragging Zane along with her.

"Wait, I wanted to get some pictures!" Meisha cried. She sighed.

Kuronu sighed. "That was close," She said.

"Why don't you want her take your picture?" Zane inquired.

**Everybody was kung-fu fighting  
Those cats were fast as lightning  
In fact it was a little bit frightning  
But they fought with expert timing**

"Because then she'll show them to every single person she sees and post them all over the internet, and that stuff...and it's annoying."

"Has she done that before?"

"Yes!" Zane smiled sympathetically at her.

"Why don't I go get us drinks," He offered as he walked over to the drink machine.

**There was funky Billy Chin and little Sammy Chung  
He said here comes the big boss, lets get it on  
We took a bow and made a stand, started swinging with the hand  
The sudden motion made me skip now we're into a brand knew trip**

"What are you doing all the way over?" Kuronu turned around and saw Chazz.

"Running from my mom and her camera, why aren't you with everyone else?"

Chazz shrugged. "Do you really expect me to hang out with those slifer slackers,"

"You do every other day."

Chazz gritted his teeth. "That was a rhetorical question!" He snapped. Kuronu rolled her eyes.

"You know, there's something I've been wondering for a while now,"

"What's that?" Kuronu asked.

**Everybody was kung-fu fighting  
Those cats were fast as lightning  
In fact it was a little bit frightning  
But they did it with expert timing**

(repeat)..make sure you have expert timing  
Kung-fu fighting, had to be fast as lightning 

"When we first met you, you said you never got to spend time with your family," He began.

"That's right,"

"Then why are they coming here all the time?!" He looked at her suspiciously.

"... ... I wasn't lying if that's what you're thinking!"

"I'm not; I'm just saying they happen to be around a lot... so maybe now I am thinking you were lying to get attention or something."

"What? That is completely..." Chazz stared at her hard. "Seriously, I never got to see them, it's like, as soon as I started hanging out with you guys that they made time for me,"

"Uh- huh,"

Zane was coming back with two cups of punch in his hand when something grabbed his arm and pulled him over into a chair.

"Hey there, sweetie," Rose said as she waved to him.

"I'm not your sweetie," Zane said simply as he went to get up again. Amazingly the punch hadn't spilled.

"Where are you going, I just saved you from that mousy Kaiba girl," Zane looked at her.

"That 'mousy Kaiba girl' is my girlfriend, and I'm going back to her."

"But wouldn't you much rather dance with me,"

"Not really,"

"But I'm so much cuter than her!"

"Sure,"

Rose got up and jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Why don't you like me?"

"Because you're annoying."

"Then I'll stop being annoying, I'll do anything for you if you'll love me," Zane sighed and put the drinks down.

"Fine, I'll give you ONE dance, but after that you leave me alone for the rest of the night." Rose jumped down as he led her to the middle of the floor.

"Sheesh, you make it sound as though I've been pestering you the whole time."

A new song then began to play.

(A/N: This is the remix version)

**I know there's something in the wake of your smile  
I get an notion from the look in your eyes...yeah  
You've Built a love but that love falls apart  
Your little piece of heaven turns to dark**

"Ah, Kuronu," Bastion said as he interrupted Chazz and Kuronu's argument. "Not sure how to tell you this, but uh," He pointed to Rose and Zane.

"What!!!???" Her eyes became as big as dinner plates.

"Ouch, harsh," Chazz commented.****

CHORUS  
Listen to your heart when he's calling for you  
Listen to your heart  
There's nothing else you can do  
I don't know where your going, and I don't know why  
But listen to your heart before  
You tell him goodbye

Kianna walked behind the tables along the wall. She then saw who she was looking for. She ignored the many guys asking her dance.

"Looks like your boyfriend found some one else," Chazz said. Kuronu went to slap him when Kianna suddenly appeared and dragged him away.

"Um," Kuronu muttered.

"Looks like Chazz has caught Kianna's eye." Kuronu blinked.

"Hey, what are you-" Chazz protested.

"You're going to dance with me, Chazz." She informed him.

**Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile  
The precious moments are all lost in the tide..yeah**

"Hang on, you can't just go around and tell people they're going to dance with you!"

"Yes, I can,"

"No, you can't.**  
**

**They're swept away and nothing is what it seems  
The feeling of belonging... to your dreams**

"No one tells the Chazz what to do,"

"I already did."****

CHORUS  
Listen to your heart when he's calling for you  
Listen to your heart  
There's nothing else you can do

I don't know where your going, and I don't know why  
But listen to your heart before  
You tell him goodbye

Chazz sighed as the techno beat picked up again and Kianna began to dance. ****

And there are voices, that want to be heard  
So much to mention but you can't find the words  
The scent of magic the beauty that's been  
When love was wilder..then the wind

"Wow,check out Chazz," Alexis commented as she watched him and Kianna to dance by each other.

"Chazz and Kianna?" Jaden asked as he raised and eyebrow. ****

CHORUS  
Listen to your heart when he's calling for you  
Listen to your heart  
There's nothing else you can do  
I don't know where your going, and I don't know why  
But listen to your heart before  
you tell him goodbye

Listen to your heart  
I don't know where your going and I don't know why  
But listen to your heart before  
you tell him goodbye 

"See, that wasn't so bad," The dirty blonde haired girl said.

"Whatever," Chazz replied as he stalked off.

Kuronu looked at Zane curiously as he came back to her. He noticed her glance and said: "It was the only way to get Rose to leave us alone for the rest of the night." He explained.

Kuronu bit her lip. Of course she knew Zane would never cheat on her, especially with Rose, but there was a tiny bit of jealousy in the back of her mind none the less.

"Come," Zane said as he took her hand and led her out to the floor as a slow song began to play.

As they got into position, Kuronu saw Alexis and Jaden not to far from them. She smiled at Alexis who smiled back. The disco ball then turned on casting silver ovals all over the floor.

**When I see your smile  
Tears roll down my face  
I can't replace**

And now that I'm strong I have figured out  
How this world turns cold and it breaks through my soul  
And I know Ill find deep inside me, I can be the one

I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever  
Ill be there for you through it all  
Even if saving you sends me to heaven

Its ok, Its ok, Its ok

Seasons are changing and waves are crashing  
And stars are falling all for us  
Days grow longer and nights grow shorter  
I can show you I'll be the one

I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever  
I'll be there for you through it all  
Even if saving you sends me to heaven

Cause you're my  
You're my  
My true love  
My whole heart  
Please don't throw that away

Cause I'm here, for you  
Please don't walk away and  
Please tell me you'll stay, stay...

Use me as you will  
Pull my strings just for a thrill  
And I know Ill be okay  
Though my skies are turning gray

I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever  
I'll be there for you through it all  
Even if saving you sends me to heaven

I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever  
I'll be there for you through it all  
Even if saving you sends me to heaven 

As soon as the song was over, another song began to play. Kuronu smiled as she bobbed her head to the beat.

"Oh no," Zane muttered. He began to walk away when Kuronu grabbed his hand.

"Oh no you don't,"

People cheered as Haru and Hiro went up onto the stage and people went into several uneven lines.

"No way," Zane protested.

"But you have to!"

"Come on Zane," Alexis said as she, Jaden, and Syrus came to them. "Do the Macarena."

**When I dance they call me Macarena  
and the boys they say that I´m Buena  
they all want me, they can´t have me  
So they all come and dance beside me  
move with me jam with me  
and if your good I take you home with me **

Kuronu smiled as they all did the Macarena. She could see her mom and her uncle trying to get her dad to do it. Everyone followed her brothers.**  
**

**A la tuhuelpa legria macarena  
Que tuhuelce paralla legria cosabuena   
A la tuhuelpa legria macarena Eeeh, macarena  
A-Hai 2x  
Now don´t you worry ´bout my boy friend  
the boy who´s name is Nicorino  
I don´t want him, ´cause sent him   
he was no good so I - hahaaaa  
Now, come on, what was I supposed to do ?  
He was outta town and his two friends were soooo fine  
Ref. 2x  
Claps Ahai Ahai  
Keys  
Ref. 2x  
Lach   
Come and find me, my name is Macarena  
always at the party,   
´cause the chicos think I´m buena  
come join me, dance with me  
and all your fellows cat hello with me  
Ref. 5x **

Everyone clapped as the song ended and a new one began.

**To the beat of my  
To the beat of my  
To the beat of my heart  
**

**I'm thinking about,  
Letting it out.  
I wanna give in,  
I wanna go out.**

Zane looked over at Kuronu and smiled. Her eyes sparkled as she laughed and talked. ****

Been looking around  
I've finally found,  
The rhythm of love,  
The feeling of sound.  
It's making a change,

The feeling is strange.  
It's coming right back.  
Right back in my range.  
Not worried about anything else,  
I'm waking up

To the beat of my,  
To the beat of my,  
To the beat of my heart.

Zanegrabbed Kuronu's hand and began to lead her away.

"Where are we going?" Kuronu asked as she looked back and saw her friends curious looks. Zane looked back at her and smiled.

"You'll see." Kuronu could feel her face turn red. Something about what he said and how he said it made her heart beat faster. He then went onto the deck. A few couples were standing along the rail, talking and such. A cool breeze blew kuronu's bangs and her dress. She hadn't noticed that the ship had set off, though not too far; she could still see the academy.

Zane led her to the front of the ship; they could only faintly hear the music now.

"What are we-?"

"Close your eyes," He told her. Kuronu blinked, and then slowly closed her eyes. "No peeking, ok?" She nodded. He gently pulled her what she felt was foreword. Then he stopped, and let go of her hand. She heard his foot steps, and then his hands held hers from behind.

"Ok, step up." He said.

"Wha-"

"Trust me." Kuronu stepped up with her right foot. She felt her foot on a thin bar, and then she stepped onto it with her left foot. She felt as though she was going to fall back, or worse, fall foreword into the ocean.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Kuronu stepped up a few more bars, feeling much more confident as she heard Zane's voice and he squeezed her hands. "Alright, open your eyes."

Kuronu opened her eyes and found herself standing on the front of the ship as it moved foreword. She glanced back as Zane also standing on the bars behind her.

"Your brothers showed me this movie once," He admitted. Kuronu smiled.

(A/N: Yes people, I'm referring to the Titanic.)

"It's so beautiful." She whispered. She bit her lip as she smiled. "You know, I think I saw that movie," She said as she turned her head back so she was looking into Zane's eyes.

"Then," Zane pulled Kuronu's hands in front of her and held them. "You must know what happens next." Kuronu moved her face closer to Zane's as she slowly closed her eyes, still smiling. They hesitated as their lips brushed against each others, waiting for someone to come, to call out, but it was completely silent except for the faint music and the sound of the boat moving through the water.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaden and Syrus walked along the deck. "I wonder where Zane and Kuronu went," Jaden wondered.

"Yah, they're missing a slow song." Syrus said as he could faintly hear the music.

**[Every time We Touch (Yanou's Candlelight Mix)**

**I still hear your voice, when you sleep next to me  
I still feel your touch in my dreams  
Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why  
Without you it's hard to survive**,

"Hey, is that them?" He asked. Zane had his back turned to them, but he could still see Kuronu. "What are they?"

Jaden opened his mouth, ready to call out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexis looked around. "Where did he go?" She wondered. She then saw Jaden and Syrus, and a few feet ahead of them... Alexis smiled. "Finally," She then saw Jaden opening his mouth, she gasped. She ran towards them as fast as she could, bumping into people and knocking them over, but she didn't care; she had to stop him.

"K-" Alexis slapped her left hand in front of Jaden's mouth and her right hand in front of Sy's, pulling them close to her. They struggled.

"Shhh!" She hissed. They continued to struggle, until they suddenly froze.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zane pressed his lips against Kuronu's and immediately, not only did fire works explode mentally, but fire works exploded into the sky. They broke apart and gazed at the sky for a moment as it was lit up with colors. They then smiled at each other and as Kuronu placed her hand on the back of his head, they kissed again.

**'Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling.  
And every time we kiss I swear I can fly  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last  
Need you by my side  
'Cause every time we touch, I feel this static  
And every time we kiss, I reach for the sky  
Can't you feel my heart beat so   
I can't let you go  
Want you in my life**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Um, ew," Syrus said as he, Jaden, and Alexis walked back to the main hall.

"So, where did the fire works come from?" Jaden asked. Alexis shrugged.

**SEVERAL SECONDS EARLIER**

Haru and Hiro were sitting on the deck and the very back of the ship, looking into a small monitor. On the screen they could see Zane and Kuronu. The remote control in Haru's hand read "Spy bot 3.0"

In Hiro's hand was a controller with a red button on. His finger eagerly was held over it. They both leaned closer to the screen, smiling as they watched their sister and best friend move closer together, and then-

Hero pressed the red button and fire works immediately exploded into the air. They high fived as they watched their sister have her first kiss.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------****

Rose scowled as she watched the two, the closed her eyes and slightly smiled and walked away. "Brava, Miss Kaiba, brava."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zane and Kuronu returned to the great hall, holding hands and smiling at each other ear to ear. Seto looked at them suspiciously.

"Where were you two?" He asked. They looked at each other, then back at Seto, trying not to smile too much.

"No where," They both said together,

"Yah right," Syrus muttered. Seeing his brother kissing someone was the last thing he ever wanted to see, but unfortunately he saw it, and now he felt sick.

"Welp, I think it's time for the next song," Haru said as he and his brother and Atticus came over.

"Oh definitely," Atticus said as the three smiled. They then ran off towards the stage.

"Hey, I thought we agreed on only one song!!" Kianna called, but was ignored. She sighed as she came over. "This place is soooooooo gay," She muttered.

After several minuets- after the song ended- the lights went off. Then a spotlight shone down on the stage as the disco ball was turned on. Haru held the microphone, Hiro and Atticus on either side of him, he was wearing black sunglasses.

Haru began to say something as a light beat played behind him. **"And this time, we're gonna get funky!"**

The music played as he was the dj. **"Funky," **he echoed.** "Everybody clap your hands! Clap, clap, clap, clap your hands. Clap, clap, clap, clap your hands. Alright now ya'll, we're gonna do the basic steps.**

**To the left, take it back now ya'll   
1 hop this time, right foot let's stomp **

Everyone was now in several un even lines as they followed the instructions.**  
Left foot let's stomp, Cha Cha real smooth **

**Turn it down, to the left **

Everyone then turned to their right.**  
**

**Take it back now ya'll  
1 hop this time, right foot let's stomp  
Left foot let's stomp, Cha Cha now ya'll**

Now it's time to get funky  
To the right now, to the left  
Take it back now ya'll  
1 hop this time, 1 hop this time  
Right foot 2 stomps, left foot 2 stomps  
Slide to the left, slide to the right  
Criscross, criscross  
Cha Cha real smooth

Let's go to work  
To the left, take it back now ya'll  
2 hops this time, 2 hops this time  
Right foot 2 stomps, left foot 2 stomps  
Hands on your knees, hands on your knees  
Get funky with it, aahhhhhhhhhh yaaaa  
Come on, Cha Cha now ya'll

Turn it down, to the left  
Take it back now ya'll  
5 hops this time  
Right foot let's stomp, left foot let's stomp  
Right foot again, left foot again  
Right foot let's stomp, left foot let's stomp

Freeze, Everybody Clap yo hands 

Everyone clapped their hands in sync to the music.**  
**

**check it out ya'll  
How low can you go?  
Can you go down low?  
All the way to da floor?  
How low can you go?  
Can you bring it to the top?  
Like it never never stop?  
Can you bring it to the top?  
1 hop, right foot now  
Left foot now ya'll  
Cha Cha real smooth**

Turn it down, to the left  
Take it back now ya'll  
1 hop this time,1 hop this time  
Reverse, Reverse  
Slide to the left, slide to the right  
Reverse Reverse, reverse reverse  
Cha Cha now ya'll   
Cha Cha again  
Cha Cha now ya'll  
Cha Cha again  
Turn it down

To the left, that it back now ya'll  
2 hops 2 hops, 2 hops 2 hops  
Right foot let's stomp, left foot let's stomp  
Charlie Brown, hop it out now  
Slide to the right, slide to the left  
Take it back now ya'll  
Cha Cha now ya'll 

**Oh yah, (yah, yah, do that stuff)**

**I'm outta here ya'll**

**Peace!**

As everyone clapped and the music stopped, the fire works could still be heard. Atticus sniffed. "Do you guys smell something?" He asked. The twins looked at each other. The three quickly ran off the stage and onto the deck and to the back of the ship. When they got there they saw a small fire.

"Well that's not so bad," Hiro said. It suddenly roared up into a huge fire.

"Ah, snap," Haru muttered.

"You didn't," They heard a voice say. They turned around and saw Seto and Mokuba. "You did not leave the fire works unsupervised." He said. Mokuba shook his head slowly.

"I'll tell the chancellor to evacuate the ship." He said as he walked away. Seto closed his eyes.

"We're grounded, aren't we?" Haru asked.

"Oh yah," Seto replied.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I guess the dance is almost over," Alexis said as she and Jaden walked along the deck outside.

"I guess so," Jaden replied. An awkward silence fell over them. "I..." Jaden began, and then stopped.

"What?" Alexis asked.

"N- nothing,"

"What, tell me,"

"No, just, I, I had fun tonight." Jaden stammered.

"I had a lot of fun, too." They both looked away as they smiled and slightly blushed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Attention everyone," Sheppard said as he was up on the stage. "Now, everyone must remain calm, but-"

Suddenly one of the students burst into the room. "THE SHIP IS ON FIRE!!!!!!" He exclaimed. Everyone began to scream and run around.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We should probably go back," Jaden suggested.

"Yah, probably," They turned around and started walking back. As they got closer they heard screaming. "What's going?" They saw people running out of the great hall and towards the life boats on the deck.

Jaden and Alexis looked at each other, confused, when some ran by and pushed Jaden. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Jaden flew foreword. He collided into Alexis as they began to fall backwards. Alexis hit the deck as her head moved up on impact and Jaden's moved foreword.

Next thing they new, Jaden was lying on top on Alexis, their lips pressed against each others. Jaden pushed himself up as he stared down at the blonde. Both were furiously blushing as their eyes were wide.

"I," Jaden stammered. Suddenly someone grabbed the back of his coat and pulled him up to his feet, then took Alexis' hand and pulled her up.

"Zane, what's going on?" Alexis asked.

"My brothers set the ship on fire," Kuronu explained.

"Oh," The two said in unison, then blushed.

"So," Syrus said as he cast narrow eyes upon them. "What was going on with you two?"

"Nothing?!" They both explained, then blush even more having spoken at the same time. Suddenly the fire exploded to the middle of the ship.

"This is bad," Zane said as they backed away. "Everybody run,"

"No duh!" Alexis cried as she, Jaden, Syrus, Kuronu, Zane, Kianna, Chazz, Bastion, and many others ran towards the front of the ship.

"Is it just me, or is the ship going up?" Kuronu asked as she held onto the railing. They looked back and saw the lower half of the ship was sinking.

"The fire must have burned through the ship," Kianna stated.

"But wouldn't the water put the fire out?" Syrus asked.

"Not necessarily," Chazz replied.

(A/N: Ok, I have no idea if this could actually happen... but I wanted it to happen, so it's happening, realistic or not.)

They saw life boats go down into the water and row away. Several people fell down the deck and into the water as the ship tilted up. It was now almost entirely upward, everyone holding onto the railing for dear life.

"Zane, incase we don't make it, there's something I have to tell you!" Kuronu exclaimed as Jaden was in between the two. "I love you!" The two leaned foreword and kissed as Jaden closed his eyes and looked the other way.

"This is not what I want to be seeing right before I die," He exclaimed.

"Jaden," Kianna shouted to him. "Isn't there something you want to tell Alexis?"

Jaden looked at her as best he could as she was several people away. He then looked at Alexis who was right next to him.

"There's something I want to tell Alexis!" Chazz exclaimed. "Alexis, I love you!" But she ignored him. "Now let's share a dramatic kiss like Kuronu and Zane did!"

Jaden gazed into Alexis's eyes and she looked into his. "I," He began. Suddenly there heard a loud crack and before they knew what was happening, the ship was falling back down to the water. Everyone up there screamed, Jaden put his arm around Alexis.

Kuronu felt water form all around her as her eyes were closed. She tried her best to swim up, which was hard since her dress was heavy. She pushed herself above the surface and gasped for air. She took in a deep breath and went back under. She pulled at her dress until she was able to rip it, considerably lightening the weight. She pushed herself back above the water and began to tread.

"Zane!" She called as she looked around. Chaos was all around her. "Zane!" She felt a hand on her shoulder and whirled around. "Zane," She whispered as she saw his smiling face. She hugged him quickly then broke apart.

"Is everyone ok?" She heard her uncle ask not to far away. Only a few dozens students were in the water. The rest were in boats. One boat rowed by with Rose in it. She laughed evilly as she passed Kuronu and Alexis.

"Well this has been an interesting dance," Alexis commented. There was a large dark area where the ship had sunk.

"Well, at least it can't get any worse," Hiro said as he treaded water. Suddenly oil rose to the top of the water and that area burst into flames. Everyone glared at him.

Haru whacked him over the head. "Would you stop talking,"

Zane swam over to the dock and pushed himself up. He then reached down and took Kuronu's hands and pulled her up. He raised an eyebrow at the shortness of her dress.

"Don't. Say. Anything." She said as her hair was messed up and strands of it stuck to her face.

"No!!!!!!!!!!" They heard Crowler exclaim a little ways off. "Please don't sue us!"

"Too late, I'm calling my lawyer," Kianna said as she stalked off. "My hair is messed up, my dress is ruined! I'm not supposes to be treated this way!"

"Oh, shut up," Chazz said to her as he rung out his coat.

"What did you just say to me?" She asked slowly. Chazz leaned close to her.

"I said, 'Shut. Up.'" Without a word Kianna slapped him so hard that he fell back into the water.

Alexis sighed as she looked at her dress. "I'm going to bed." She announced.

"Ditto," Jaden said. "G'night Kuronu, Zane," he then turned to Alexis. "Alexis, He said softly. Syrus rolled his eyes.

Kuronu looked over at Zane and smiled. "I should go to be too."

"Yah." He bent down and lightly kissed her on the lips. "Sweet dreams," He whispered as he was still close to her.

"If they're about you they will be," They went to kiss again.

"Eh- hem," They looked up and saw Seto standing there with his arms crossed.

"'Night daddy," Kuronu said, and then gave him an awkward hug. "You'll be here tomorrow right?"

"No, I have to America," Meisha said as Kuronu hugged her as well.

"I've gotta go with her," Mokuba said.

"I have a meeting early tomorrow." Seto explained. Kuronu blinked.

"Oh," She said. "Oh! So when I have lots of friends around and people to be with you have lots of time for me, but when I'm alone, you ditch me!" Seto looked up as he thought about this.

"Yup," He said. "That's exactly right." Kuronu fell over. "I'll see you...maybe to tomorrow," He said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Yah, I'm sure." Kuronu replied.

She walked back to the dorm with Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine. The three giggled and gossiped together about the night, but Kuronu remained silent. When she got to her room she closed the door and leaned against it, the events of the night playing through her mind.

_FLASH BACK_

_Zane pressed his lips against Kuronu's and immediately, not only did fire works explode mentally, but fire works exploded into the sky. They broke apart and gazed at the sky for a moment as it was lit up with colors. They then smiled at each other and as Kuronu placed her hand on the back of his head, they kissed again. _

_END FLASHBACK_

Kuronu smiled and let out a squeal as she danced to her bed and collapsed onto it. She smiled at the ceiling as she clutched her necklace.

"Best night ever," She whispered to herself aloud.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authoress' note: I can't believe. The next chapter is the last. Oh my gosh, I've been thinking about this day for almost 2 years (1 year and 9 months) and it's finally come. I'm really excited but at the same time kind of sad. I guess I'll give you more info on what's next in the next chapter, but first I must give credit to the people who wrote those amazing songs:

Every time We Touch- Cascada

One in a Million- Hannah Montana

Blue- Eifle (63?)

Kung Fu Fighting- not sure who that's by

Listen to Your Heart- Edmee I think, correct me if I'm wrong.

Your Guardian Angel- The Red Jumpsuite Apparatus

Macarena- I forget who that's by.

Beat of my Heart- Hillary Duff

Every time We Touch Yanou's Candlelight Mix- Cascada

Cha Cha Slide- I forget who that's by, but it's not the normal one, it's a remix. (I have a kingdom hearts video on YouTube. There's a link to my account on my profile somewhere.)

And that's everything. Please review, no harsh flames.


	52. Saying Good bye

Authoresses' note: Alright, before I start with all my thank yous, I must apologize first. A little while ago some one drew me this amazing picture, but I wasn't supposed to be on the computer so I didn't get a chance to save it to the computer or post it or anything, and now I can't find it in my inbox, so I am very, very sorry to the drawer of that picture. Ok, now thank you so much for your reviews guys, they were great. Alright, here we go.

Chapter 52: Saying good bye

Kuronu sighed as she looked around her room. All her things were packed up into two large suitcases and a backpack. She was wearing khaki shorts, a dark blue short sleeved shirt, and a sleeveless orange vest, as he hair was in pig tails. It was the last day of school. _This is going to be a boring summer, _She thought to herself.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Kuronu, I almost forgot," Seto said as he looked at her as she was leaving to go to her dorm to get ready for the dance. She turned and looked at him. "You're grounded." He said suddenly. Kuronu's eyes became as big as dinner plates. _

"_Wha- wha- Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????" She exclaimed. "Why?"_

"_What do you mean, 'why'?" Seto exclaimed. "You deliberately disobeyed me."_

"_Yah, but it was all ok-"_

"_That's not the point. Even if it all was ok, so still disobeyed me, and for that you're being punished."_

_Kuronu sighed. "I suppose that's fair. How long am I grounded?"_

"_I was thinking the whole summer," Kuronu nearly fainted at this._

"_But your mother persuaded me to change it tone month," Seto groaned. "You have Zane to think that," He crossed his arms and began to walk away. "Stupid dates._

_END FLASHBACK_

Kuronu sighed again. _A whole month of my summer and whole month's worth of dates, thrown away._

She then heard a knock on her door. "Come in," She said. A man wearing a black suite and sunglasses entered the room. It was one of her father's body guards, Han.

"I'm here to carry your bags to the dock and to ensure you return safely." He explained.

"R- Right," The muscular bent walked over and picked up a suite case in each hand, then looked at the backpack. "I've got this one," Kuronu said as she picked it up and pulled one strap over her shoulder. As Kuronu stood at the door frame, her hand on the door knob, she looked back into the room one last time before closing the door.

XXXXXX

Jaden around as most of the students were on the dock, either waiting for the public boat to return them to domino city, or their own person transportation vehicle. Syrus was next to him, a single suite case next to him while Jaden only had a back pack.

"I still can't believe those are the only clothes you brought for the whole school years." Syrus said, casting a glance to the backpack.

"What, it's not like we wear anything other than our school uniforms."

"Good point," Syrus replied. "To bad no one told Rose that," He cocked his head towards Rose where she was surrounded by ten pink suite cases. She sat on one as she talked on her cell phone.

"Even I didn't bring that much," someone said from behind them. The boys turned around and saw Alexis as she was wearing a dark blue pair of jeans and a light blue sleeveless blouse. Jaden turned away slightly as found that he was somewhat blushing.

"Hi Syrus," She said cheerfully, she then looked at Jaden, her cheeks also turning a bit pink. "Hey Jaden," Jaden lifted his hand.

"Hey Lex," Jaden scratched the back of his head while Alexis rubbed her arm as an air of extreme awkwardness wafted over them. Syrus snickered.

"So, did you guys have fun last night?" As he expected, both of their faces turned bright red.

"Uh, yah," Jaden stammered quickly.

"Yah, it was uh, interesting." Neither of them could make eye contact. "I'm glad that no one got hurt," She said, trying to change the subject away from them.

"Yah, although I heard a few kids broke some bones and one even had a light concussion, but nothing too serious," Jaden added. And then there was silence as Jaden and Alexis tried to avoid looking at each other, both their faces red, and Syrus looked from one to the other with an evil smirk.

"Well, this is a happy crowd," Bastion said as he came over.

"Isn't it though," Syrus said sarcastically.

"What's the matter with you two?" Bastion asked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh wait, does this have anything to with what happened last night?"

"What happed last night?" Jaden asked, trying to sound as confused as possible.

"Well, some one told me that he saw the two of you-"

"Look, a yellow bird!" Alexis suddenly exclaimed. Jaden and Syrus looked in the direction she had pointed at while Bastion simply smiled at her.

"Where?" Jaden asked as he looked around. Alexis sighed. Clueless Jaden,

"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaadeeeeeeeeen!!!" Kuronu exclaimed as she ran towards them and wrapped her arms around him. "It's the last day of school, and I'm going to be alone for a whole month because I'm grounded," She sobbed.

"Uh, there, there," Jaden said as he patted her on the back.

"Well that's what happens when you disobey your parents," Chazz said as he suddenly appeared. Kuronu swiftly turned her head towards him.

"Shut it, Chazz!" She exclaimed. She sighed as she then looked at Jaden. "By the way, have you seen Zane?" She released her arms from around his neck and dropped them to her side. "It's so depressing knowing that I won't get to see him, or talk to him…" She then crisscrossed her fingers in front of her chest as she glanced to the side, slightly blushing. "Kiss him," She muttered. Syrus suddenly became aware of his breakfast as he covered his mouth. "for a whole month."

She swayed slightly then collapsed onto the ground, then fell on her back as she gazed at the cloudless blue sky. "My life is over." She said. A figure then appeared above her as he looked down.

"Then what am I supposed to with myself if your life is over?" He said calmly.

"Zane!" Kuronu exclaimed as she jumped up, spun around, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He was wearing a pair of light jeans, a white shirt, and sleeveless light blue vest.

"Aw," Bastion muttered as he smiled.

"Ew," Syrus muttered as he turned away.

Kuronu then looked up at her boyfriends face with huge watery eyes, "I'm grounded," She said. "And I wont get to see you or any one else for a whole month!" Zane patted her head as he smiled.

"Yes, but then once the groundings over, we can go out as much as we like. Trust me, one month will go by a lot quicker than you think." Kuronu sighed.

"I suppose you're right," She said as she hung her head and her arms drooped by her side. "You're always right."

"Miss Kaiba," Han suddenly said from behind her. "Your chopper is here." Kuronu looked over and saw a white chopped with the letters KC on it land a little ways away.

"Yah, I need to get going to," Alexis said, she pointed her thumb behind her to a large white yacht. A man in a white suite came over and picked up her two suite cases and carried them towards the yacht.

"Where's Atticus?" Zane asked, glancing around.

"He went home last night with you brothers, Kuronu," The blonde replied. Kuronu sighed.

"Great,"

Alexis slightly sighed, then smiled at everyone. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys in a little bit. I mean, just because its summer vacation, doesn't mean we still can't get together right?"

"Wrong," Kuronu said as she was a little ways off, sitting on the ground, her knees hugged to her chest and those blue lines over her.

"I was mainly talking to everyone else," Alexis said. Kuronu replied with a long sigh. "By guys," Alexis said as she waved and ran towards the yacht. She glanced back and saw Jaden waving as she smiled.

"Our ride's here too, Syrus." Zane said as he looked at his little brother. He then looked towards a large cruise ship. Jaden's eyes became as big as dinner plates.

"That's your ride!!??" He exclaimed. Syrus shrugged. "Oh yah, I forgot, you're rich."

Syrus sighed. "Sometimes I forget to, Jay."

A man in a navy suite briskly walked over to them. "Mr. Truesdale," He said slightly bowling to Zane. "Master Truesdale," He said to Syrus with in the same manner. "Are you ready to go home?"

"By Jaden," Syrus said as he waved, following his brother to the ship. Jaden waved. Some how it didn't seem like he was really saying good bye, because he knew he'd be seeing everyone again in a matter of weeks, possibly days. Almost immediately after Chazz left, Bastion was the only one joining him on the public ship.

Kuronu made her way through the crowd to where the chopper was. She had said good bye to Jaden, but Zane and Syrus had left with out saying good bye.

"Looks like your boyfriend left without saying good bye, huh?" Rose suddenly said from behind Kuronu. Kuronu glared at her, but inside her eyes were wide and confused.

_Can Rose read minds?_ She asked herself. "I'm sure he had somewhere very important to go," She said.

"Yah, you just keep telling yourself that," Rose replied. Kuronu gritted her teeth.

"Look," Kuronu began.

"You win," Kuronu blinked.

"Wait, wha-"

"You win." Rose repeated, her green eyes determined but not unfriendly. Kuronu blinked again.

"I win…at what?" She asked.

"Gosh, you're thick," Rose muttered. "You. Win."

"The internet?" Rose fell over. "I've always wanted to win the internet."

"How can someone 'win the internet!!??" Rose exclaimed. Kuronu shrugged. Rose slapped her forehead. "You win Zane, alright!! He's yours! I won't try to steal him or anything any more, unless you break up…" She stopped as Kuronu stared at her. "But I highly doubt that'll happen any time soon," She said in a soft voice.

"Rose," Kuronu began, but the red head held her hand up.

"You kissed him, and quite patiently night I add. I know that I could never receive that from him…you win." Rose began to walk away and then stopped. "He hasn't left yet, so hurry and go give him a kiss good bye." She then turned away. "I'm sure he's trying to find you." With that she disappeared into the crowd. Kuronu stared blankly at where the girl had been standing, and then did as she had instructed and began to run through the crowd.

_Kuronu,_ Zane thought as he pushed his way through the people. _Where are you? _Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blur of orange, blue, and brown run past him. He reached out his hand and grabbed their arm. _This'll be SO embarrassing if it's not Kuronu._

As Kuronu ran she suddenly felt someone grab her wrist and pulled her back. Before she was aware of what was happening, someone had pressed their lips against hers. She closed her eyes as she felt familiar warmth around her. Zane moved back as he smiled at her.

"You didn't think I'd actually leave with out saying good bye, did you?" Kuronu smiled.

"It never crossed my mind." Zane leaned in and lightly kissed her.

"Zane, hurry up!!" Syrus called from the boat. Zane and Kuronu both sighed.

"I'll see you in one month," Zane said as he placed both his hands on her cheeks. Kuronu nodded. Zane quickly kissed her on the lips again and ran over to his ship. Kuronu stood there for a moment, her eyes closed, she wanted to saver the moment for as long as possible, when someone suddenly bumped into her.

Kuronu's eyes shot open as her arms flailed around her. She was looking almost directly down at the water, her tip toes on the edge of the dock. She lost her balance and fell into the ocean.

Zane looked over and blinked as Kuronu's head bobbed above the surface. A little ways away from the girl, a pink yacht passed, Rose was laughing while she sat on a chair by the railing as it passed. Zane sighed, though smiling as Jaden came to her rescue and pulled her out of the water.

"Shut up!!!" She yelled to the red head.

Kuronu sighed. "I'm all wet," She stated. "And I liked this outfit." Jaden snickered.

"Oh, Kuronu," He said, only to be replied with a slap.

XXXXXXX

Kuronu gazed out her window as the chopped rose into the air. She could see Jaden still waving to her, until they went so high that he was simply a spec amongst many other specs. A towel was wrapped around her as she had a pair of speaker headphones on.

"Shall we go home, Miss Kaiba?" The pilot asked into the speaker.

"Yes," She said. "It's time to go home," Her eyes sparkled as she watched the academy disappear behind her, then her eyes quickly turned large and tearful. "to my grounding." She cried. The pilot and the co- pilot sighed. Typical Kuronu.

Authoress' note: Alright, cheesy ending, but I was having trouble finding a place to stop, and my arm really hurts. But…that's it. No more… I'm….done… wow, this is a bittersweet feeling. Alright, I'll probably write the sequel next, though at some point I'll write a prequel and maybe even finally get around to writing my cardcaptor story now that I have a laptop with Microsoft word and internet up in my room(it's for school but…I can still do other on it after I've finished school for the day, right? Hooray for Cyber School!)

**Slide show**

Ok, I have made a slide show with pictures of my characters. The pictures aren't very good, well, the new ones are better than the others, (the old ones are with Kuronu's old hairstyle- I didn't feel like re- drawing all those pictures- and people have giant heads and anorexic bodies.) You don't have to watch it, though it'd be nice if you did. The new ones took me several hours each just to get them the way I wanted, but if you don't feel like watching a slideshow with not particularly good pictures, that's ok too. There should be a link below, but if for some reason it doesn't work, I'll post a link on my profile somewhere.

**Thank you**

Well, that's all. Thank you everyone sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for all of your reviews and support, it really means so much to me. I never would have though that in a million years I would've obtained more than 600 reviews. You are all so amazing for dealing with the first several chapters that I have to say were written really badly (I don't claim to be an amazing writer, but even I have to admit that my writing has greatly improved since I started), those 15 filler chapters where they were at Kuronu's house (who knows how long the story would have been if I hadn't written out what happens in what chapter on paper) and all those 20 some pages long chapters.

I can never say thank you enough, so if I don't stop now, I'll just go on and on for several more pages, so thank you again, and good bye for now.


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